Trump Federal Election Case: Judge Imposes Limited Gag Order on Trump

[Procrustes Stretched]

Justice is moving along... Mr Trump is his own worse enemy. It's about the integrity of the process. Integrity?

Trump Federal Election Case: Judge Imposes Limited Gag Order on Trump​

The order pits the First Amendment rights of a presidential candidate against the responsibilities of a judge to protect witnesses and to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.

Trump Federal Election Case: Judge Imposes Limited Gag Order on Trump

The order pits the First Amendment rights of a presidential candidate against the responsibilities of a judge to protect witnesses and to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.

www.nytimes.com

Pinned
Updated
Oct. 16, 2023, 12:52 p.m. ET8 minutes ago
8 minutes ago
Alan Feuer and Charlie Savage
Reporting from the courthouse

Here’s the latest on the gag order.​

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.

Some serious stuff, and we all seen it coming -- denial aside.

Judge Chutkan imposed the gag order at the end of a two-hour hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, which was one of the most contentious public proceedings to have arisen so far in any of the criminal cases Mr. Trump is facing.

Gag orders limiting what trial participants can say outside of court are not uncommon. But Mr. Trump’s status as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, and his decision to portray the gag order request as part of an effort by the Biden administration to stifle a political rival, made this request by prosecutors especially complex.

In issuing a nuanced, limited order, Judge Chutkan appeared to be trying to thread the needle on balancing Mr. Trump’s rights to political speech as a candidate for the country’s highest office and her own duties to protect the integrity of the case in front of her.

Mr. Trump and his legal team have sought to portray the election case as being about his First Amendment rights, and they are likely to vigorously challenge the order. There are two ways they could do so — either or both of which could happen.

Mr. Trump could appeal it now, arguing it is an unconstitutional prior restraint on his free speech rights in the abstract. In addition, if he later makes remarks that the judge decides crossed the line and imposes a punishment, he could appeal in the context of whether he had a right to say whatever statement was specifically at issue there.

• At the hearing, Mr. Trump’s legal team and prosecutors in the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, presented two starkly divergent visions of the election interference case. Mr. Trump’s lawyers sought to characterize the election interference prosecution as a political vendetta against Mr. Trump by Mr. Biden, his chief opponent.
• Judge Chutkan said she saw the case like any other proceeding she has handled and Mr. Trump like any other criminal defendant. “Politics stops at this courtroom,” said the judge, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
• Much of the hearing was given over to sparring between Judge Chutkan and John F. Lauro, a lawyer for Mr. Trump. Cutting Mr. Lauro off several times — and even laughing aloud at him once — Judge Chutkan staked out a position seeking to protect the witnesses and prosecutors in the case from being threatened or harassed, and to keep Mr. Trump’s bullying remarks from spiraling into violence.
• Some of the former president’s more outrageous statements seem to have had real-world consequences. Here are the sorts of comments prosecutors hoped to block.
• Mr. Trump was placed under a very limited gag order early this month by the New York State judge overseeing his civil trial in Manhattan, where he is accused of inflating the value of his properties. That order restricts Mr. Trump from speaking about any people who work on the judge’s staff. The order Judge Chutkan is considering could be significantly broader.

 

[Synthaholic]

Did she impose a gag order on USMB Trumpers, too?

 

[konradv]

Justice is moving along... Mr Trump is his own worse enemy. It's about the integrity of the process. Integrity?

Trump Federal Election Case: Judge Imposes Limited Gag Order on Trump​

The order pits the First Amendment rights of a presidential candidate against the responsibilities of a judge to protect witnesses and to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.

Trump Federal Election Case: Judge Imposes Limited Gag Order on Trump

The order pits the First Amendment rights of a presidential candidate against the responsibilities of a judge to protect witnesses and to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.

www.nytimes.com

Some serious stuff, and we all seen it coming -- denial aside.

Trump can’t keep attacking civilians and still claim election interference. Saying some random woman is Schumer’s girlfriend is beyond-the-pale for normal political discourse. The man has no class. His gilded lifestyle demonstrates that. A truly secure person doesn’t require that kind of validation.

 

[Lastamender]

Trump can’t keep attacking civilians and still claim election interference. Saying some random woman is Schumer’s girlfriend is beyond-the-pale for normal political discourse. The man has no class. His gilded lifestyle demonstrates that. A truly secure person doesn’t require that kind of validation.

Trump can claim election interference until the cows come home. The fact that this is all it is backs him up.

 

[WEATHER53]

It’s not Justice when you can’t handle hearing speech that does not jibe with your witch hunt. It also shows how fragile your persecution prosecution is.

 

[Blaster]

Trump should just ignore the gag order.

 

[bendog]

Trump should just ignore the gag order.

hope so. Then he can really be gagged.

 

[Lastamender]

hope so. Then he can really be gagged.

Why can't Trump defend himself? He is being denied his civil rights by a biased court.

 

[Blaster]

hope so. Then he can really be gagged.

Do you really believe they could stop him?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Trump can’t keep attacking civilians and still claim election interference. Saying some random woman is Schumer’s girlfriend is beyond-the-pale for normal political discourse. The man has no class. His gilded lifestyle demonstrates that. A truly secure person doesn’t require that kind of validation.

The Lucky Sperm Club: Clueless, wealthy individuals who believe they've earned something. Think about it. What does it take for sperm to get into the canal to fertilize the egg?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Why can't Trump defend himself? He is being denied his civil rights by a biased court.

He is not prevented from defending himself.

Don't forget, he's out on bail.

 

[Lastamender]

Chutkan then blasted the Trump team because President Trump used the word “thug” and this implies violence!
Is she that stupid, and implications should not count in a court of law. They are not facts. This is kangaroo court shit.

Trump judge: President should be gagged and silenced because he used the 'T-word' | WND | by Around the Web

Judge Tanya Chutkan used the opportunity to continually lecture the Trump defense team. Chutkan attacked the Trump team for President Trump calling out the Jack Smith and his wife’s far left politics. Chutkan argued this was not acceptable.

www.wnd.com

 

[rampart]

It’s not Justice when you can’t handle hearing speech that does not jibe with your witch hunt. It also shows how fragile your persecution prosecution is.

this gag order is too little too late. this man has done more to destroy our country with his mouth than any american since 1865.

 

[bendog]

Do you really believe they could stop him?

Oh yeah. She can "lock him up" if he "tweets" about court personnel or jurors.

 

[BlindBoo]

I think he should just ignore her order and blurt out whatever pops into his tiny little retributive mind.

 

[Crepitus]

Justice is moving along... Mr Trump is his own worse enemy. It's about the integrity of the process. Integrity?

Trump Federal Election Case: Judge Imposes Limited Gag Order on Trump​

The order pits the First Amendment rights of a presidential candidate against the responsibilities of a judge to protect witnesses and to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.

Trump Federal Election Case: Judge Imposes Limited Gag Order on Trump

The order pits the First Amendment rights of a presidential candidate against the responsibilities of a judge to protect witnesses and to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.

www.nytimes.com

Some serious stuff, and we all seen it coming -- denial aside.

The first amendment was not meant to allow people to intimidate judges and jurors. This does not violate any of tRump's rights.

 

[Lastamender]

He is not prevented from defending himself.

Don't forget, he's out on bail.

View attachment 843842

He sure is. Troll.

 

[Lastamender]

The first amendment was not meant to allow people to intimidate judges and jurors. This does not violate any of tRump's rights.

If people are intimidated by the word "thug" we would not have courts of law in the first place. Would we?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

He sure is. Troll.

Criminal, out on bail.

 

[Crepitus]

Why can't Trump defend himself? He is being denied his civil rights by a biased court.

Attacking the judge, witnesses, and jurors doesn't fall under the category of defense.