Judge Temporarily Lifts Narrow Gag Order On Trump In Election Interference Case – By Alanna Durkin Richer (Huffpost) / Oct 20, 2023
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the gag order would remain on hold — for now.
The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Washington agreed Friday to temporarily lift her narrow gag order. The ruling gives Trump’s lawyers time to prove why the former president’s comments should not be restricted as the case heads toward trial.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the gag order would remain on hold — for now — while she considers Trump’s bid to speak freely about the case while he challenges the restrictions in higher courts.
The gag order Chutkan issued Monday barred him from making public statements targeting prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses. It’s the most serious restriction a court has placed on Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric, which has become a centerpiece of his grievance-filled campaign to return to the White House.
Trump’s lawyers, who quickly appealed the ruling to the D.C. Circuit Court, wrote in court papers Friday that neither prosecutors nor the judge have “come close” to justifying the gag order, adding that the former president “has not unlawfully threatened or harassed anyone.”
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