Donald Trump calls gag order ‘unconstitutional’ at speech in Iowa
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On Monday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed a partial gag order on Donald Trump as part of his federal election interference case, prohibiting him from making public statements that target special counsel Jack Smith, his staff, Chutkan’s staff, and other D.C. court personnel staff, per ABC.
Chutkan also extended the gag order to bar him from “making statements about potential witnesses in the case and the substance of their potential testimony.”
Politico reported that Chutkan declined restricting “Trump’s ability to criticize Washington, D.C., or its residents” and his claims the prosecution against him is political.
Chutkan commented on the gag order, saying, “His presidential candidacy does not give him carte blanche to vilify … public servants who are simply doing their job,” per Politico.
In a speech in Iowa Monday, Trump called the gag order “unconstitutional.”
He said, “Today a judge put on a gag order. I’ll be the only politician in history that runs with a gag order where I’m not allowed to criticize people. Can you imagine this, I’m not allowed to criticize people. So we’ll see. We’ll appeal it. And we will see. It’s so unconstitutional.”
The Guardian reports prosecutors have argued Trump’s statements about the trial could “intimidate people from testifying against him at trial and poison the jury pool.” With the gag order, Trump will be able to only say whether he denies charges or not, “without further comment.”
Trump’s lawyer, John Lauro, opposed the gag order and deemed it unconstitutional, accusing prosecutors of censoring a presidential candidate in the middle of a campaign, per Time.
Chutkan responded, “You keep talking about censorship like the defendant has unfettered First Amendment rights. He doesn’t. We’re not talking about censorship here. We’re talking restrictions to ensure there is a fair administration of justice on this case.”
Trump responded to the gag order on Truth Social, saying in all caps, “Will appeal the gag order ruling. Witch hunt!”
He continued, “A terrible thing happened to democracy today — gag order!”
