Obama-Appointed Judge Partially Grants Biden DOJ’s Proposed Gag Order On Trump
Katelynn Richardson | Daily Caller News Foundation
October 16, 2023
A federal judge limited the scope of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) proposed gag order for former President Donald Trump after raising concerns during a hearing Monday.
United States District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, an Obama appointee, granted the requested order in part, restricting statements about Special Counsel Jack Smith, his staff and court personnel while permitting Trump to make statements about the Biden administration and DOJ, according to reports. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office requested an order last month that would restrict Trump from making “disparaging and inflammatory, or intimidating” statements about any “party, witness, attorney, court personnel, or potential jurors.”
Chutkan expressed reservations about the broadness of the DOJ’s proposed order Monday.
At one point during the hearing, Trump attorney John Lauro said George Orwell “would be having a field day” over prosecutors’ arguments. Chutkan replied he “definitely” would, per reports.
Yet Chutkan rejected the defense’s argument that Trump had entirely unrestricted First Amendment rights to make statements about any party in the case, noting he is still facing criminal charges.
A Trump spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement that the order is “an absolute abomination.”
“Today’s decision is an absolute abomination and another partisan knife stuck in the heart of our Democracy by Crooked Joe Biden, who was granted the right to muzzle his political opponent, the leading candidate for the Presidency in 2024, and the most popular political leader in America, President Donald J. Trump,” the spokesperson said. “President Trump will continue to fight for our Constitution, the American people’s right to support him, and to keep our country free of the chains of weaponized and targeted law enforcement.”
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