Foreign-born U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the Washington, D.C. trial for Donald Trump’s actions on January 6th, partially granted a Department of Justice (DOJ) request for a gag order against the former-President and his attorneys.
The order – an attack on a former President’s first amendment rights – indeed bars Trump from commenting on DOJ special prosecutor Jack Smith, his staff, court staff, and potential witnesses. Chutkan rejected broader DOJ requests to bar comments on the department itself, President Biden, and Washington, D.C. – attacks on the latter the DOJ argued could ‘taint’ the jury pool.
After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defense Chutkan concluded that: “Mr. Trump is a criminal defendant. He is facing four felony charges. He is under the supervision of the criminal justice system and he must follow his conditions of release.” She then asked Trump attorney John Lauro if he agreed that given his status as a defendant, the former-President “does not have the right to say and do exactly what he pleases.”
Chutkan previously worked at the infamous Biden-linked Boies Schiller Flexner law firm, which also represented Burisma, the board of which President Joe Biden’s son Hunter sat. Chutkan’s grandfather, Frank Hill, and great uncle, Kenneth Hill, were Marxists who were imprisoned during the British colonial era, with Governor Sir Arthur Richards describing Kenneth, in particular, as “probably the most dangerous subversive agent in Jamaica.”
Judge Chutkan appeared mostly concerned with the type of language Donald Trump used to describe Smith and others, rather than the actual accusations made. “If the message Mr. Trump wants to express is ‘my prosecution is politically motivated,’ he can do so without using ‘highly charged language’,” she said. While not detailing any specific repercussions for violating the gag order, Chutkan said she would would not hesitate to impose sanctions – indicating any punishments would most likely be in the form of monetary fines instead of jail time.
The Trump campaign responded to Judge Chutkan’s order in a statement:
Today’s decision is an absolute abomination and another partisan knife stuck in the heart of our Democracy by Crooked Joe Biden, who was granted to the right to muzzle his political opponent, the leading candidate for the Presidency in 2024, and the most popular political leader in America, President Donald J. Trump. President Trump will continue to fight for our Constitution, the American people’s right to support him, and to keep our country free of the chains of weaponized and targeted law enforcement.
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