A limited gag order has been placed on former President Donald Trump by the federal judge overseeing his impending trial on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election outcome via the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The court felt the need to censor Trump because of his repeated attack on people connected to the case, including court officials, special counsel Jack Smith, and members of the judge’s staff.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued the gag order on Monday, Oct. 16, saying this has nothing to do with the vileness of what the former reality star says but rather that his comments could potentially impede justice from being served.
“This is not about whether I like the language Mr. Trump uses. This is about language that presents a danger to the administration of justice,” Chutkan said, CNN reported.
Trending Today:
With this order, Trump is restricted from taking to his social media or speaking about special counsel Jack Smith, his staff, court personnel, and/or potential witnesses.
Smith, who is representing the Justice Department, requested the gag order in September because of Trump’s repeated inflammatory public statements about the case.
Taking note of the former president’s history of pushing the limits of the law, he asked if the order could be “narrowly tailored” in a fashion where Trump would not put out “extrajudicial statements that present a serious and substantial danger of materially prejudicing this case.”
He cited the multiple times Trump has tweeted or made public statements about the 2020 election that targeted people who disagreed with him or aimed to hold him accountable for the alleged crime of election interference.
“The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets,” prosecutors said in court documents, CBS reported.
Smith told the court comments are a way “to…
Read the full article here