New York's highest court rejected Donald Trump's appeal to lift his gag order, in the latest blow to his campaign from the state's Democratically controlled kangaroo courts.

Despite the impending presidential election, the New York Court of Appeals said "no constitutional question is directly involved" in the continued silencing of the Republican candidate.

Trump loses appeal

Trump's lawyers have argued the continued gag order restrictions infringe on his First Amendment rights, burdening his presidential campaign.

His Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, cited his New York conviction during Tuesday night's presidential debate to paint him as a dangerous criminal.

The trial judge, Juan Merchan, had partially lifted the gag order after Trump's conviction in May, but Merchan left the remainder of the gag order in place pending the sentencing.

The continued restrictions bar Trump from commenting on court staff, prosecutors, and their families.

Merchan imposed the gag order before the trial began and expanded it to cover the judge's own family, after Trump criticized Merchan's daughter over her ties to Democrats through her consulting firm.

Silencing Trump

The judge has repeatedly refused Trump's requests to recuse himself, with Merchan insisting there is no conflict of interest. Merchan's daughter has worked for prominent Democrats, including Kamala Harris when she ran for president in 2019.

Last week, Merchan moved to delay the sentencing until after the election. The judge said he wanted to avoid any appearance of impacting the election.

Even still, Democrats have already exploited the phony verdict to attack Trump as a "convicted felon" as Trump continues to be barred by the gag order.

“The Democrats are trying to unlawfully gag President Trump, the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election, because they know that he is dominating this election, will win on November 5th, and will Make America Great Again!” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said.

Nicholas Biase, the spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, recently called the case against Trump "nonsense" and a "perversion of justice" meant to further Democratic prosecutor Alvin Bragg's ambitions.

“He wants to be, something … a mayor? I’m not sure what he wants to be, but I know he’s not happy just being the DA of New York County. Before he decided to prosecute Trump, did you know who he was? You do now,” he said.