The judge overseeing the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump has imposed a narrow gagging order on him, barring the former president from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses and her staff.
The order by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan is a milestone moment in the federal case in Washington DC which accuses the Republican of illegally conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team had raised alarm about a barrage of statements disparaging prosecutors, the judge and prospective witnesses which were said to risk undermining public confidence in the court system and causing witnesses or people who might be picked as jurors to feel harassed and intimidated.
Judge Chukan said there would be no restrictions on statements criticising the Justice Department generally or statements about Trump’s belief that the case is politically motivated.
She said Trump cannot mount a “smear campaign” against prosecutors and court personnel, adding: “No other criminal defendant would be allowed to do so, and I’m not going to allow it in this case.”
Judge Chutkan said she would impose “sanctions as may be necessary” if the order was violated, but was not more specific. Judges can threaten violators with fines or jail time, but jailing a presidential candidate could have serious political repercussions and pose logistical hurdles.
His lawyers fiercely opposed the order, saying it would unconstitutionally hinder his political speech.
In a social media post shortly after the hearing in Washington’s federal court, Trump vowed to appeal.
In seeking the order, Mr Smith’s team accused the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner of using online attacks to try to undermine public confidence in the justice system and taint the jury pool.
Trump lawyer John Lauro accused prosecutors of “seeking to censor a political candidate in the middle of a campaign”, but the judge hit back that Trump “does not have a right to say and do exactly as he pleases”.
“You keep talking about censorship like the defendant has unfettered First Amendment rights. He doesn’t,” Judge Chutkan said. “We’re not talking about censorship here. We’re talking restrictions to ensure there is a fair administration of justice on this case.”
The judge, who was appointed by Barack Obama, repeatedly warned Trump’s lawyer to keep politics out of the courtroom, and she cut him off when he suggested the case was politically motivated.
Prosecutor Molly Gaston on Monday told the judge that Trump’s lawyers were arguing their client is “above the law” and not subject to the same rules as other defendants. Ms Gaston said Trump knows that his posts “motivate people to threaten others”, and she argued those can not only pollute the jury pool but also chill witnesses.
“We have no interest in stopping the defendant from running for office or defending his reputation,” she said.
Judge Chutkan also read aloud statements Trump made about her, deriding her as a “radical Obama hack”. Although she said she was “less concerned” about statements he made about her, she said his free speech does not extend to language that knowingly invites threats and harassment of “people who are simply doing their jobs”.
The gagging order proposal underscored the unprecedented complexities of prosecuting Trump, who has made the line of attack central to his campaign, and it presented a big test for Judge Chutkan, who must balance Trump’s right to defend himself publicly with the need to protect the integrity of the case.
Trump’s campaign had seized on the proposal of a gagging order in fundraising appeals, and Trump falsely characterised it as an attempt to prevent him from criticising Mr Biden.
Trump’s defence called the order request unconstitutional and a “desperate effort at censorship”.
