Justice Department Urges Reinstatement of Gag Order Against Donald Trump in Election Conspiracy Case
In a filing made on Wednesday, prosecutors from the Justice Department requested a federal judge to reinstate the gag order against former President Donald Trump. This order would prevent Trump from commenting on potential witnesses in his election conspiracy case.
The filing coincided with a New York judge fining Trump $10,000 for violating a gag order in his civil fraud trial for the second time. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan had originally ordered Trump on October 16 not to make any comments about court staff, prosecutors, or witnesses involved in her case. However, she suspended the order on Friday to allow Trump to appeal her decision. During this period, Trump took to social media on Tuesday to comment about former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
In their filing, special counsel Jack Smith’s team argued that Trump’s past behavior of making derogatory and inflammatory remarks against perceived adversaries poses a serious threat to the fairness of the trial. Smith’s team stated, “There has never been a criminal case where a defendant has been granted unrestricted media access to malign the judge and other individuals involved, attack the prosecutor, and target specific witnesses with character assassinations.”
Trump has claimed that he has a First Amendment right to comment on the multiple criminal and civil trials he is facing. He believes that the Biden administration is attempting to silence him as he campaigns for the presidency in 2024. Trump’s lawyers have requested the suspension of the gag order during the appeal, arguing that no court in American history has imposed such an order on a criminal defendant campaigning for public office.
This federal gag order is the second one imposed on Trump. In his New York fraud trial, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump on October 3 not to comment on court staff and fined him $5,000 for displaying a social media post featuring a court clerk on his campaign website for two weeks. Engoron issued an additional fine of $10,000 on Wednesday for a comment Trump made in the hallway which the judge deemed to be about the clerk. Trump argued that he was referring to a witness, Michael Cohen, but Engoron found him “not credible.”
The prosecutors initially sought the gag order ahead of Trump’s trial, scheduled for May 20, on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election. They believed that Trump’s comments could intimidate witnesses and potentially lead to threats of violence against court staff and prosecutors. Trump has been charged with four counts and has pleaded not guilty.
Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, is a co-defendant with Trump in the Georgia election conspiracy case and could play a pivotal role as a witness in the federal case. Meadows arranged and attended meetings central to the alleged election conspiracy. On January 2, 2021, he participated in Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, urging him to “find” enough votes to secure Trump’s victory in the state. Meadows also attempted to observe a ballot audit in Cobb County, Georgia, but was denied access.
Meadows has pleaded not guilty in Georgia and has argued for immunity from prosecution, claiming that he was simply executing his duties as Trump’s chief of staff. Media outlets have reported that Meadows has had multiple meetings with special counsel Smith’s team as a potential witness in the federal case.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump expressed his belief that Meadows would not lie about the election in order to secure an immunity deal. He accused individuals who take plea deals of being “weaklings and cowards.”
Contributing: Aysha Bagchi
