In a case where he is charged with trying to overturn the 2020 election, Trump will still be able to criticize Biden, even if a judge agrees with prosecutors' demands for a gag order.
But that's not what Donald Trump is telling his supporters in his fundraising emails. As he tries to raise funds for his re-election bid, he has repeatedly said a proposed gag order would block him from publicly criticizing Biden. The falsehoods are part of a broader effort by Trump and his allies to frame the multiple prosecutions he's facing as politically motivated.
Smith has not asked the judge to silence Donald Trump's speech.
In another message to the judge dated Sept. 29, Smith pointed out that Trump was still critical of witnesses in the case, three weeks since the initial request for a gag order. Donald Trump's repeated public statements about witness testimony are substantially likely to materially prejudice a fair trial, Smith said.
Smith emphasized that Trump has argued that another witness in the case, Mark Milley, the retiring chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should be executed. A federal judge such as Chutkan has broad leeway in issuing Orders restricting the speech of defendants and can issue penalties up to and including requiring that a defendant be jailed while waiting for trial. Trump's legal team will have a chance to make their case against theGA on October 16, when Chutkan scheduled a hearing at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, on the topic.
Judge Chutkan is authorized to issue orders to protect a fair process, protect the jury pool and court personnel, and prevent the cowing of witnesses, Litman said.
A Colorado judge issued a protective order prohibiting threats and intimidation in a lawsuit seeking to bar Donald Trump from the state's presidential ballot in 2024. The gag order applies to all parties involved in the case, including Trump.
Trump's campaign did not respond to several requests for comment.
The case involving Trump's actions in trying to overturn the 2020 election results is expected to go to trial in March. The hearing is part of a four-year investigation into the criminal charges that Donald Trump faces. He is also facing charges in Georgia's Fulton County alleging he was part of a conspiracy to overturn Biden's victory in the state, and in federal court in Florida in his handling of classified documents after he left office and a case brought by the Manhattan district attorney over how his business accounted for a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.