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Oct. 16, 2023, 12:52 p.m. ET8 minutes ago
8 minutes ago
Alan Feuer and
Charlie Savage
Reporting from the courthouse
A judge imposed a limited gag order on former President Donald J. Trump on Monday, restricting Mr. Trump from making public statements attacking the witnesses, prosecutors or court staff involved in the federal criminal case in which he stands accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.
Mr. Trump’s freedom of speech rights do not permit him “to launch a pre-trial smear campaign” against those people, said the judge, Tanya S. Chutkan. “No other defendant would be allowed to do so, and I’m not going to allow it in this case.”
But the order left Mr. Trump free as he pursues his presidential campaign to continue disparaging the Justice Department, President Biden — and even to assert that he believed his prosecution was politically motivated. She also apparently left Mr. Trump free to attack her.
Judge Chutkan also addressed a particularly thorny question involving former Vice President Mike Pence, who is both a witness and his rival for the 2024 Republican nomination. She said Mr. Trump could do so as long as it did not concern Mr. Pence’s role in the events at the heart of the case.
The judge did not immediately address how she will enforce her gag order. She merely said she would assess any consequences for Mr. Trump if and when he violates it.