Federal Appeals Upholds Donald Trump’s Gag Order In D.C. Election Conspiracy Case, But Narrows Its Scope

deadline.com:

Donald Trump can still be restricted in what he says witnesses as well as lawyers and court staff, and their families, in his federal election conspiracy case, an appellate court ruled on Friday.

The three-judge panel largely upheld Judge Tanya Chutkan‘s gag order in the proceedings, with the exception that the restrictions do not apply to Special Counsel Jack Smith, a frequent Trump target who he has labeled “deranged.” The judges also set parameters for the type of restrictions on Trump’s comments about attorneys and court staffers, writing that it applied in cases where his statements “are made with the intent to materially interfere with, or to cause others to materially interfere with, counsel’s or staff’s work in this criminal case, or with the knowledge that such interference is highly likely to result.” Read the Trump appellate court ruling.

Trump’s attorneys argued that the gag order, imposed by Chutkan in October, was an unprecedented restriction on the speech of a presidential candidate, violating his First Amendment rights and past court rulings that have set a high bar when it comes to banning political speech.

In the opinion, authored by Judge Patricia Millett, the judges wrote that “Mr. Trump is a former President and current candidate for the presidency, and there is a strong public interest in what he has to say.