US judge imposes gag order on Trump in election subversion case

(AP) — The United States judge overseeing the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump in Washington imposed a narrow gag order on him on Monday, barring the Republican former president from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses and the judge's staff.

The order from District Judge Tanya Chutkan is a milestone moment in the federal case that accuses Trump 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.

Those comments, prosecutors said, risked undermining public confidence in the court system and causing witnesses or people who might be picked as jurors for trial to feel harassed and intimidated.

Chutkan 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.

But the judge said Trump can't mount a “smear campaign” against prosecutors and court personnel. “No other criminal defendant would be allowed to do so, and I'm not going to allow it in this case,” she said.

Trump's lawyers fiercely opposed any gag order, saying it unconstitutionally hinders his political speech. A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the judge's ruling.

In seeking a gag order, Smith's team accused the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner of using online attacks to try to taint the jury pool.

Trump's lawyer John Lauro accused prosecutors of “seeking to censor a political candidate in the middle of a campaign.” But the judge shot 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,” 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.”

Chutkan, who was appointed by former President 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 had told the judge Trump's lawyers were arguing their client is “above the law” and not subject to the same rules as other defendants. 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 can chill witnesses.

“We have no interest in stopping the defendant from running for office or defending his reputation,” she said.

Chutkan also read aloud statements Trump has made about her, deriding her as a “radical Obama hack.” Although she said she was “less concerned” about statements that Trump has made about her, she said his free speech doesn't extend to language that knowingly invites threats and harassment of “people who are simply doing their jobs.”

Monday was the first time Trump's lawyers had appeared before Chutkan since she denied Trump's request to recuse herself from the case, which alleges Trump illegally schemed to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

The defense had claimed Chutkan's comments about Trump in other cases raised questions about whether she had prejudged his guilt. But Chutkan said her comments were mischaracterised and there was no need for her to step aside.

Trump has frequently used social media to attack Chutkan, prosecutors, likely witnesses and others despite warnings from the judge that inflammatory comments could force her to move up the trial currently scheduled to begin in March.

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