Judge bars Trump from 'smear campaign' against prosecutors, witnesses
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[October 17, 2023]
By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Monday barred Donald Trump from
verbally attacking U.S. prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses
involved in a criminal case that accuses him of trying to overturn his
2020 election loss.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, pointing to disparaging
social media posts, said she would not allow the former U.S. president,
who has pleaded not guilty, to "launch a pretrial smear campaign"
against people involved in the case.
"No other criminal defendant would be allowed to do so, and I’m not
going to allow it in this case," Chutkan said as she issued the order.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Iowa on Monday, Trump called the judge's
order "unconstitutional" and vowed to appeal it.
"I'll be the only politician in history that runs with a gag order where
I'm not allowed to criticize people," Trump told supporters.
The order bars Trump, frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential
nomination, and attorneys in the case from personally targeting Special
Counsel Jack Smith, prosecutors working with him and court staff.
It also prevents Trump from discussing potential witnesses as relates to
their testimony at trial.
Trump's trial is due to begin in five months. He is charged with
conspiring to interfere in the counting of votes and block the
certification of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
The ruling followed a two-hour hearing where the judge grilled a Trump
lawyer about recent social media posts in which Trump referred to Smith
as a “thug” and the city of Washington as a “filthy crime-ridden
embarrassment” and suggested former top U.S. General Mark Milley
committed an offense that would have once warranted death.
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Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald
Trump delivers remarks to supporters at the Club 47 USA event in
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon
Stapleton/File Photo
“This is not about whether I like the language Mr. Trump uses,”
Chutkan said. “It’s about language that presents a danger to the
administration of justice.”
Trump lawyer John Lauro opposed any request to rein in Trump’s
statements, arguing that it would amount to censorship during a
presidential campaign.
Trump has successfully used the many legal threats he faces to raise
money for his campaign, and his political operation sought to
capitalize on Monday's hearing by arguing that the gag order request
would silence his political movement.
Prosecutors sought a limited gag order that would bar certain
statements from Trump during the case.
The judge said she would allow Trump to make critical statements
about the U.S. Justice Department and that denounce the prosecution
as politically motivated.
Lauro said Trump was responding to "oppression" from the Justice
Department and "has a history of using forceful language and
creative language to draw attention to the problems of this
country."
Molly Gaston, a prosecutor working with Smith, said the order was
necessary to prevent Trump from trying the case "in the court of
public opinion."
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Additional reporting by Nathan
Layne. Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)
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