Judge Tanya Chutkan forbade Trump from making statements about potential witnesses or making disparaging comments about the prosecutors.
By Ryan J. Reilly and Daniel Barnes
WASHINGTON — The judge overseeing the federal election interference case on Monday issued a partial gag order on former President Donald Trump, forbidding him from making statements about potential witnesses or making disparaging comments about the prosecutors.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan said she would not impose restrictions on Trump's statements about Washington, D.C., and its residence, nor on statements criticizing the government or the Justice Department generally. But she imposed a restriction on all parties, including Trump, that banned them from making or reposting any statements publicly targeting the special counsel, his staff, as well as court staff or personnel.
"I cannot imagine any other criminal case" in which a criminal defendant could call prosecutors deranged or a thug, Chutkan said. “No other defendant would be allowed to do so and I’m not going to allow it in this case."
Chutkan said Trump could make statements about one of his Republican rivals, Mike Pence, but could not speak about his role in the case. Chutkan said Trump did not have a right to launch a smear campaign against witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the federal election interference case against Trump in August, was seeking a narrow gag order against Trump to "protect the integrity of the trial and the jury pool." Trump's team, absent evidence, has argued that the Biden administration is trying to silence the former president's speech during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Prosecutors and Trump's defense attorney appeared before Chutkan at a hearing in Washington, D.C. on Monday morning. Trump was not present at the hearing. The trial is scheduled for March 2024.
Chutkan laughed after Trump’s lawyer John Lauro argued that the current conditions are working, saying she disagreed before she went through some of Trump's statements one by one. Chutakn said Trump "doesn’t” have unfettered First Amendment rights, and that there's "no question" that the court is entitled to draw restrictions to ensure the fair administration of justice.
Chutkan said she had concerns about the breadth of the proposed order presented by Smith's office. But Molly Gaston of the special counsel's office said Trump "can criticize President Biden to his heart’s content" because Biden had nothing to do with the case.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform during the hearing, saying, “The TRUMP GAG ORDER that the CORRUPT Biden Administration is trying to obtain is totally Unconstitutional!”
Trump, prosecutors said in a filing ahead of the hearing, wants "special treatment, asserting that because he is a political candidate, he should have free rein to publicly intimidate witnesses and malign the Court, citizens of this District, and prosecutors." But in this case, they wrote, Trump should be treated like any criminal defendant.
Trump's team has argued that the proposed gag order is politically motivated.
“At bottom, the Proposed Gag Order is nothing more than an obvious attempt by the Biden Administration to unlawfully silence its most prominent political opponent, who has now taken a commanding lead in the polls,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a brief filed last month.
Trump’s team sought to delay the trial until 2026, and Smith’s team wanted jury selection in the case to begin this year, but Chutkan set a trial date for March 4, 2024, the day before “Super Tuesday,” when primary voters in several states cast their ballots.
Chutkan, who has received threats in connection with her oversight of the case, previously warned Trump about talking about the case in a way that could cause witness intimidation or impact the proceedings.
“Mr. Trump, like every American, has a First Amendment right to free speech,” Chutkan said. ‘But that right is not absolute.”
Trump, Chutkan said at an August hearing, “is a criminal defendant,” and would “have restrictions like every other defendant.” Trump’s defense, she said, “is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet. And to the extent your client wants to make statements on the internet, they always have to yield to witness security and witness safety.”
In a separate civil trial in New York, a judge ordered Trump to delete a disparaging post about a member of the judge's staff.
“Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I won’t tolerate it,” said Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the New York attorney general's fraud lawsuit against Trump, his company, and his two adult sons. “Consider this a gag order on all parties with respect to posting or publicly speaking about any member of my staff."
By Ryan J. Reilly and Daniel Barnes
WASHINGTON — The judge overseeing the federal election interference case on Monday issued a partial gag order on former President Donald Trump, forbidding him from making statements about potential witnesses or making disparaging comments about the prosecutors.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan said she would not impose restrictions on Trump's statements about Washington, D.C., and its residence, nor on statements criticizing the government or the Justice Department generally. But she imposed a restriction on all parties, including Trump, that banned them from making or reposting any statements publicly targeting the special counsel, his staff, as well as court staff or personnel.
"I cannot imagine any other criminal case" in which a criminal defendant could call prosecutors deranged or a thug, Chutkan said. “No other defendant would be allowed to do so and I’m not going to allow it in this case."
Chutkan said Trump could make statements about one of his Republican rivals, Mike Pence, but could not speak about his role in the case. Chutkan said Trump did not have a right to launch a smear campaign against witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the federal election interference case against Trump in August, was seeking a narrow gag order against Trump to "protect the integrity of the trial and the jury pool." Trump's team, absent evidence, has argued that the Biden administration is trying to silence the former president's speech during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Prosecutors and Trump's defense attorney appeared before Chutkan at a hearing in Washington, D.C. on Monday morning. Trump was not present at the hearing. The trial is scheduled for March 2024.
Chutkan laughed after Trump’s lawyer John Lauro argued that the current conditions are working, saying she disagreed before she went through some of Trump's statements one by one. Chutakn said Trump "doesn’t” have unfettered First Amendment rights, and that there's "no question" that the court is entitled to draw restrictions to ensure the fair administration of justice.
Chutkan said she had concerns about the breadth of the proposed order presented by Smith's office. But Molly Gaston of the special counsel's office said Trump "can criticize President Biden to his heart’s content" because Biden had nothing to do with the case.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform during the hearing, saying, “The TRUMP GAG ORDER that the CORRUPT Biden Administration is trying to obtain is totally Unconstitutional!”
Trump, prosecutors said in a filing ahead of the hearing, wants "special treatment, asserting that because he is a political candidate, he should have free rein to publicly intimidate witnesses and malign the Court, citizens of this District, and prosecutors." But in this case, they wrote, Trump should be treated like any criminal defendant.
Trump's team has argued that the proposed gag order is politically motivated.
“At bottom, the Proposed Gag Order is nothing more than an obvious attempt by the Biden Administration to unlawfully silence its most prominent political opponent, who has now taken a commanding lead in the polls,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a brief filed last month.
Trump’s team sought to delay the trial until 2026, and Smith’s team wanted jury selection in the case to begin this year, but Chutkan set a trial date for March 4, 2024, the day before “Super Tuesday,” when primary voters in several states cast their ballots.
Chutkan, who has received threats in connection with her oversight of the case, previously warned Trump about talking about the case in a way that could cause witness intimidation or impact the proceedings.
“Mr. Trump, like every American, has a First Amendment right to free speech,” Chutkan said. ‘But that right is not absolute.”
Trump, Chutkan said at an August hearing, “is a criminal defendant,” and would “have restrictions like every other defendant.” Trump’s defense, she said, “is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet. And to the extent your client wants to make statements on the internet, they always have to yield to witness security and witness safety.”
In a separate civil trial in New York, a judge ordered Trump to delete a disparaging post about a member of the judge's staff.
“Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I won’t tolerate it,” said Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the New York attorney general's fraud lawsuit against Trump, his company, and his two adult sons. “Consider this a gag order on all parties with respect to posting or publicly speaking about any member of my staff."
