October 16, 2023
Former President Donald Trump said Monday he is going to appeal a gag order in which a federal judge prohibited him from making public statements attacking witnesses and specific prosecutors or court staff members involved in his indictment on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election results.
“WILL APPEAL THE GAG ORDER RULING,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “WITCH HUNT!”
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee, ruled in a hearing Monday that Trump’s status as a presidential candidate did not give him a blank check to level a “smear campaign” against those involved in the case, saying, “no other defendant would be allowed to do so, and I’m not going to allow it in this case.”
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SOURCE: https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/donald-trump-indictment-gag-order/2023/10/16/id/1138515/
RELATED: Judge Gags Donald Trump from ‘Publicly Targeting’ Prosecutor, Judge in J6 Case
October 16, 2023
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan sided with prosecutors on Monday to place a gag order on former President Donald Trump in the case related to January 6.
The gag order blocks Trump from comments “publicly targeting” the judge, special counsel Jack Smith, and “any other court personnel.” Trump is “absolutely prohibited as well” from issuing statements about their families, the Washington Post reported:
Even before the order was issued, Trump’s lawyer John Lauro said they would appeal any such order, as it would affect important free speech principles, particularly for a leading candidate for president.
Trump “can argue that this prosecution is politically motivated,” the judge said, but he cannot disparage the prosecutor by calling him a thug or “vilify and implicitly encourage violence against public servants who are simply doing their jobs.”
She is also barring Trump and all parties from making statements about witnesses in the case.
Smith brought four counts against Trump in the case on August 1. They include:
Count 1 – “Conspiracy to Defraud the United States”- 18 U.S.C. § 371
Count 2 – “Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding” – 18 U.S.C. § 1512 (k)
Count 3 – “Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding” – 18 U.S.C. § 1512 (c)
Count 4 – “Conspiracy Against Rights” – 18 U.S.C § 241
Trump could serve a maximum of 55 years in prison, and could technically face the death penalty under Count 4.
Smith has aimed for a January 2, 2024, trial date during an election year and less than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
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SOURCE: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/10/16/judge-gags-donald-trump-publicly-targeting-prosecutor-judge-j6-case/
RELATED: Judge Slaps Gag Order on Trump: Censorship or Justice?
Judge issues gag order on former President Donald Trump in 2020 election case. (Credit: MidJourney AI/Jeff Charles)
October 16, 2023
In a controversial move, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed a narrow gag order on former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election subversion case pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The order prohibits Trump from making public statements targeting certain individuals involved in the trial.
This comes after special counsel Jack Smith’s team expressed concerns about the former president’s constant criticisms of the effort to prosecute him for allegedly engaging in illegal activity to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. However, critics argue that the gag order is an effort to stifle Trump’s speech while he is running for a second term as president.
The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump in Washington imposed a narrow gag order on him on Monday, barring the Republican former president from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses and the judge’s staff.
The order from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is a milestone moment in the federal case that accuses Trump of illegally conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team had raised alarm about a barrage of statements disparaging prosecutors, the judge and prospective witnesses. Those comments, prosecutors said, risked undermining public confidence in the court system and causing witnesses or people who might be picked as jurors for trial to feel harassed and intimidated.
Chukan said there would be no restrictions on statements criticizing the Justice Department generally or statements about Trump’s belief that the case is politically motivated.
The order bars Trump “from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses, and the judge’s staff.”
