Judge imposes limited gag order on Trump in 2020 election interference case

WASHINGTON (TND) — A federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump imposed a limited gag order against him Monday.

Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to bar Trump and lawyers from making statements "that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case," including inflammatory or intimidating remarks about witnesses, lawyers and other people involved in the case.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has accused Trump of trying to undermine the public's confidence in the justice system and taint the jury pool.

Chutkan 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.

But she did add that Trump can't mount a "smear campaign" against prosecutors and court personnel.

“No other criminal defendant would be allowed to do so, and I’m not going to allow it in this case,” she said.

Trump's lawyers have called the proposal an unconstitutional effort to silence his political speech as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.

Prosecutor Molly Gaston said, "We have no interest in stopping the defendant from running for office or defending his reputation, nor does our proposed order do this."

Trump's lawyer John Lauro accused prosecutors of "seeking to censor a political candidate in the middle of a campaign" but Chutkan shot back and said Trump "does not have a right to say and do exactly as he pleases."

Gaston added that Trump knows his posts "motivate people to threaten others," and argued it can pollute the jury pool and chill witnesses.

The proposed gag order follows one that was imposed on Trump in his New York civil fraud trial.

Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him to delete a social media post that publicly smeared the judge’s principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield.

“Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, not appropriate, and I will not tolerate them,” Engoron said.

Trump has frequently used social media to attack Chutkan, prosecutors, likely witnesses and others despite warnings from judges.

Lawyers for Trump recently sought to dismiss the federal election subversion case in Washington.

They presented the argument to a judge by saying that the former president is immune from prosecution for the actions he took while in office.

Monday was the first time Trump's lawyers appeared before Chutkan since she denied their request to recuse herself from the case.

Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.