Judge Reinstates Trump Gag Order in Federal Election Case

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Facts

  • A D.C. federal judge has reinstated a gag order barring former Pres. Donald Trump from publicly targeting prosecutors, potential witnesses, and court staff in the 2020 election interference case. The gag had been temporarily lifted following his appeal to put a hold on the restrictions pending appeal in higher courts.1
  • US District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed arguments that her order was too vague or violated his First Amendment rights in a ruling issued on Sunday evening, noting that the court must balance free speech with “potential prejudice resulting from certain kinds of statements.”2
  • This comes after Justice Dept. special counsel Jack Smith urged Chutkan to restore the partial gag order on Trump, accusing the 2024 GOP frontrunner of capitalizing on the stay and threatening his former ally Mark Meadows, a possible witness in the case, on social media.3
  • Chutkan, however, denied a request from the special counsel to change the terms of Trump's pretrial release conditions to include compliance with the gag order, reserving the right to choose whether to punish any future violations with a fine, a contempt of court charge, or even imprisonment.4
  • The order, which now sits before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for consideration in the coming weeks, still allows Trump to criticize the charges against him, the Justice Dept., and the Biden administration ahead of the trial, which is expected to begin on March 4, 2024.5
  • Currently facing four criminal cases and a civil litigation, Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges and alleged that politically motivated prosecutors are carrying out a 'witch hunt' against him. He was previously fined twice for violations of a gag order issued in his New York fraud trial.6

Sources: 1Associated Press, 2Forbes, 3The Wall Street Journal, 4Courthouse News Service, 5CBS and 6Daily Wire.

Narratives

  • Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by CNN. At this point, a gag order — of which Trump is under two — is the least the courts can do in an effort to stop Trump from intimidating witnesses and threatening court officers. As soon as the gag order in this case was stayed, Trump once again resorted to putting people in harm’s way with his public pronouncements. More serious measures may be needed to prevent Trump from causing a tragedy.
  • Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Daily Caller. These gag orders are unthinkable and unconstitutional. Taking First Amendment rights away from a contending campaigner for the presidency is a weaponization of the justice system against an opponent of the Biden administration. Even the ACLU — historically a key critic of Trump — agrees these orders should be struck down.

Predictions