WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a significant development, a U.S. judge lifted a temporary partial gag order on ‘s public statements concerning the federal criminal case. This case alleges that the former president made illegal attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Interestingly, this decision coincided with a New York state judge fining Trump $5,000 for violating a gag order in a civil trial. Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan of Washington suspended the order she previously issued earlier, providing some respite for Trump. However, Chutkan is still considering Trump’s request for a longer pause in order to challenge the gag order.
Trump’s lawyers appealed to Chutkan to lift the restrictions while they seek to overturn the “breathtakingly overbroad” order issued by the judge. The mentioned order, issued earlier on Monday, forbids Trump from directing negative statements towards Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting the case, as well as his staff members. It also prohibits Trump from making derogatory remarks about court staff and potential witnesses involved in the case.
Past instances have seen Trump branding Smith, a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, as a “deranged lunatic” and a “thug,” alongside other insults. Trump faces four criminal cases in total, and he has not refrained from making disparaging comments about the prosecutors involved, including the New York state attorney general who brought civil fraud charges against him.
It is worth noting that Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of plotting to unlawfully interfere in the vote tally and obstruct the congressional certification of his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 elections.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; writing by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Will Dunham)
