Former President Donald Trump promised to appeal a gag order reimposed on him Sunday night by the judge overseeing his 2020 election case.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee, reimposed a gag order that prevents Trump from making public statements “targeting” Special Counsel Jack Smith or his staff, the defense counsel or their staff, court staff and witnesses after temporarily suspending it. Trump said Monday morning that the order “will not stand” and promised to appeal.
“I have just learned that the very Biased, Trump Hating Judge in D.C., who should have RECUSED herself due to her blatant and open loathing of your favorite President, ME, has reimposed a GAG ORDER which will put me at a disadvantage against my prosecutorial and political opponents,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday morning.
“This order, according to many legal scholars, is unthinkable! It illegally and unconstitutionally takes away my First Amendment Right of Free Speech, in the middle of my campaign for President, where I am leading against BOTH Parties in the Polls.”
Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief with the court backing Trump, arguing that the order is too broad and includes issues that will likely be relevant during the 2024 presidential campaign.
“Few can believe this is happening, but I will appeal,” he continued.
“How can they tell the leading candidate that he, and only he, is seriously restricted from campaigning in a free and open manner? It will not stand!”
In her nine-page Sunday night decision, Chutkan said Trump was unlikely to succeed on a First Amendment challenge to the order and argued his statements “pose sufficiently grave threats to the integrity of these proceedings.”
“Defendant’s repeated appeals to broad First Amendment values therefore ignore that the court pursuant to its obligation to protect the integrity of these proceedings—recognized those values but, in balancing them against the potential prejudice resulting from certain kinds of statements, found them outweighed,” Chutkan wrote Sunday night.
She noted that Trump’s recent statement calling former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows a “weakling” and “coward” would have been prohibited under the gag order “for good reason.”
“The statement singles out a foreseeable witness for purposes of characterizing his potentially unfavorable testimony as a ‘lie’ ‘mad[e] up’ to secure immunity, and it attacks him as a ‘weakling[] and coward[]’ if he provides that unfavorable testimony—an attack that could readily be interpreted as an attempt to influence or prevent the witness’s participation in this case,” Chutkan wrote.
This “judge” can sugar coat this all she wants but this is still a blatant attempt to ham-string the campaign of the front runner not just of the Republican primary but the entire election. The stakes are too high for them to allow Trump to campaign at all.
You are CORRECT.. they are trying every level to stop Trump because they know he will win the election HANDS DOWN. He is the only one that can pull America out of this mess.
It is so Election interfering and Biden should be going to Jail
this Judge & all the DA’s all Need To be DISBARRED for ABUSE of POWER.
It Is ILLEGAL to take away FREEDOM of SPEECH.
All need to STAND UP FOR DJ TRUMP, If Not we could be next.
They just want to take everything away from Trump. When they do this they will start taking away free speech for Trump supporters. I think all hell is going to break loose. The judge is racist against Trump. There I said it.
The judge is the true definition of a power Stroking B…h, needs recused then disbarred for breach of power
I hope if Trump wins and get back in he goes on a swift revenge and legal arrest tour against all the crooked DA’s and Judges and Appoints his whole cabinet made up from everyone who the deep state has targeted .
I hope Rudy is AG and he puts there asses out of business for ever like he brought down the mob.
I want to see people like Jack Smith and this Judge and the rest all lose everything they have sold their souls to acquire by doing the bidding of the deep state and especially their freedom.
If that happens and anyone of them is convicted. while they await there sentence give them each a 38 caliber derringer with one bullet to keep in their cell the first night and check on them in the morning.