Judge temporarily halts gag order on Trump in Jan 6 case

On Friday, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed to temporarily halt her gag order on former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election interference case, while he appeals the order in higher courts.

The Associated Press reports that Trump's lawyers wrote in their appeal, "By restricting President Trump’s speech, the Gag Order eviscerates the rights of his audiences, including hundreds of millions of American citizens who the Court now forbids from listening to President Trump’s thoughts on important issues.”

Judge Chutkan issued a narrow gag order on Monday which said that the former president would not be allowed to make remarks about special counsel Jack Smith, nor court staff or others in regards to the case. 

"This is not about whether I like the language Mr. Trump uses. This is about language that presents a danger to the administration of justice," Chutkan said in her decision from the bench. She added that Trump's presidential candidacy does not give him the right to threaten or vilify "public servants simply doing their job."

Trump Attorney John Lauro argued that this is "The Biden administration is seeking to censor a political candidate in the middle of a campaign." 

The request by the Justice Department for Chutkan to implement the order argued that the former president's First Amendment right "only attaches to materials in criminal cases for which “(i) there is an ‘unbroken, uncontradicted history’ of openness, and (ii) public access plays a significant positive role in the functioning” of the material."

It also noted that "the court need not decide whether the First Amendment applies here," because the government has already "met its burden to justify the redactions."

Chutkan's order against former President Trump is the second gag order issued to the former president regarding his legal battles. The first was issued by Judge Arthur Engoron out of New York in his civil fraud trial brought forth by New York Attorney General Letitia James. 

Judge Engoron threatened to imprison the former president on Friday, claiming he violated his order after the Trump team did not remove a social media post mocking the judge's clerk's relationship with Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer.