(NewsNation) — Missouri’s attorney general is alleging the state of New York violated the First Amendment rights of Missouri residents by imposing a gag order on former President Donald Trump during his hush money trial in which Trump was found guilty of 34 criminal counts.
Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed the lawsuit Wednesday, saying that New York’s “Illicit prosecution, gag order, and sentencing” of Trump undermined the former president’s ability to campaign for president.
In addition, the lawsuit says that New York’s “overt meddling” sabotages Missourians’ ability to hear from and cast a fully informed vote for president. Bailey, a Republican, also filed a preliminary injunction that asks the U.S. Supreme Court to halt any action relating to the hush money case until after the November election.
On Tuesday, New York prosecutors agreed to push Trump’s sentencing back from July 11 to September.
“Right now, Missouri has a huge problem with New York,” Bailey said in a statement released by his office. “Instead of letting presidential candidates campaign on their own merits, radical progressives in New York are trying to rig the 2024 election by waging a direct attack on our democratic process.”
Bailey also accused “Soros-backed prosecutors” of holding Missouri voters hostage in the presidential election.
The New York attorney’s general declined to comment on the suit.
The lawsuit alleges that New York state officials committed three violations, including interfering with a presidential election, violating a federal case that keeps courts from confusing voters or changing election rules, and violating the First Amendment rights of voters in other states.
“Nothing is more destructive to the health of a democracy than distrust in the outcome of an election. And yet New York has brought transparently weak charges for the transparent purpose of trying to impose political damage against Trump and trying to restrain his ability to campaign in advance of an election forecasted by the polls to be very close,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit accuses Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of bringing criminal charges against Trump to boost Biden’s reelection chances and to keep Trump out of the White House. The lawsuit also claims New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan violated judicial ethics rules by donating to Biden’s reelection campaign and not recusing himself from the case.
“This lawfare is poisonous to American democracy,” Bailey said. “The American people ought to be able to participate in a presidential election free from New York’s interference. Any gag order and sentence should be stayed until after the election.”