Gag order against Trump will prevent him from criticizing prosecutors, judge in J6 case

The DOJ requested a gag order against Trump, and Chutkan, who has presided over many cases involving January 6ers, has allowed much of that motion to go ahead. The order reads that "All interested parties in this matter, including the parties and their counsel, are prohibited from making any public statements, or directing others to make any public statements, that target (1) the Special Counsel prosecuting this case or his staff, (2) defense counsel or their staff, (3) any of this court's staff or other supporting personnel; or (4) any reasonably foreseeable witness or the substance of their testimony."

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"This Order," it continues, "shall not be construed to prohibit Defendant from making statements criticizing the government generally, including the current administration or the Department of Justice; statements asserting that Defendant is innocent of the charges against him, or that his prosecution is politically motivated; or statements criticizing the campaign platforms or policies of Defendant's current political rivals, such as former Vice President Pence."

This gag order, which appears to have personal overtones as it especially takes issue with Trump's lambasting of those persons who are prosecuting him, namely DOJ-appointed special counsel Jack Smith and Obama-appointed Democrat Party-donating Judge Tanya Chutkan, would make it impossible for Trump to discuss the biases, backgrounds, or behaviors of those who are engaged in his prosecution.

What does that mean in practice? Other than no mean tweets about the DOJ prosecutors, it means that facts, too, will be suppressed if they were to come from the Trump camp. Trump would not be permitted to discuss the fact that Karen Gilbert, one of the primary attorneys on special counsel Smith's team, donated funds to Biden and Obama.

He would not be legally allowed to mention that Smith's wife was a producer on the gushing Obama film "Becoming," nor that Smith was involved in the Lois Lerner IRS scandal which revealed that the IRS specifically targeted conservative not-for-profit groups.

Trump recently blasted Smith for seeking a gag order in the first place, which is something that he likely would not be able to do under the terms of the gag order as provided by Judge Chutkan. Disparaging Chutkan's record of ruling against J6 defendants, too, could be prohibited under this new order.

Smith's office defended the ask for the gag order, saying "Since [the] date [the government proposed the gag order], the defendant has continued to make statements that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case and that fall within the narrowly tailored order proposed by the Government."

And it wasn't just comments about the prosecutorial staff that had Smith in a tizzy, but comments Trump has made about his White House team, such as General Mark Milley. Smith claimed that the comments Trump made about prosecutors "could subject them to threats."

"The defendant’s baseless attacks on the Court and two individual prosecutors not only could subject them to threats—it also could cause potential jurors to develop views about the propriety of the prosecution, an improper consideration for a juror prior to trial," Smith said in September.

"Likewise, the defendant’s continuing public statements about witnesses are substantially likely to materially prejudice a fair trial," Smith said.

Trump's team has spoken in defense, saying that this case against him is a political prosecution, that it's an attempt to "unconstitutionally silence" him during his bid for a second term in the White House. Chutkan, and the DOJ, are essentially claiming that Trump's words are so incendiary as regards the case against him that he should be prevented from speaking about it.

In calling for the gag order, they accuse Trump of using comments such as "If you go after me, I'm coming after you" as a means to incite violence or threats. In other words, the DOJ, and Judge Chutkan, are all basically triggered by mean tweets.