Simon Ateba
@simonateba
BREAKING: In case you missed it late last night while you were in bed, DC Judge Tanya S. Chutkan reinstated a gag order against Trump ahead of the 2024 election, where Trump is the leading GOP candidate.
Here are the 14 key things that you need to know:
1. Last night (Sunday night), DC federal judge, Tanya S. Chutkan, reinstated a gag order on former President Donald J. Trump.
2. The gag order restricts what Mr. Trump can say about witnesses and prosecutors in a case where he is accused of seeking to overturn the 2020 election in Washington D.C.
3. This is different from the gag order in New York which limits what he can say there about court staffers.
4. In Washington DC, the gag order was temporarily placed on hold for nine days before being reinstated last night.
5. Mr. Trump's lawyers had requested a longer freeze on the gag order while a federal appeals court in Washington reviews it,
but Judge Chutkan denied this request.
6. But now, the gag order will remain in effect while a federal appeals court in Washington reviews it.
7. The detailed reasoning behind Judge Chutkan's decision was not immediately available due to a computer system glitch.
8. Trump's legal team had argued that the gag order violates his First Amendment rights and silences him during a crucial period when he is positioning himself as the leading candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
9. However, the special counsel Jack Smith's team contended that despite Trump running for president, he did not have permission to issue public statements that could threaten or intimidate individuals involved in the election interference case, especially if those statements might incite violence among readers or listeners.
10. The gag order in New York is related to a civil case where Trump is accused of allegedly fraudulently inflating the value of his real estate holdings. In contrast, the gag order in Washington, D.C., is associated with a criminal case involving his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
11. In the New York civil case, Justice Arthur F. Engoron imposed a $10,000 fine on Mr. Trump for violating the gag order (in court), which bars him from going after members of the court's staff. This fine followed a previous $5,000 fine imposed by Justice Engoron in the same case (for a post on Truth Social.)
12. In Washington DC, Jack Smith's team told the judge to reinstate the gag order because Trump had also violated the frozen order by twice making public comments about Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, who could appear as a witness in the case.
13. “The defendant has capitalized on the court’s administrative stay to, among other prejudicial conduct, send an unmistakable and threatening message” to Mr. Meadows, prosecutors wrote to Judge Chutkan. “Unless the court lifts the administrative stay, the defendant will not stop his harmful and prejudicial attacks,” they added.
14. Last night, the judge sided with them and reinstated the gag order.
My take: Trump has alleged that Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in DC is biased and has made prejudiced statements against him while presiding. He requested the judge to recuse herself, but the judge denied the request. He also asked the judge to extend the duration of the gag order freeze while the appeals court reviews it, which was also denied last night. Trump has further argued that silencing him during a presidential election in which he is a leading candidate is not only unjust but unconstitutional. However, the judge ruled differently. Many individuals on the right assert that this situation clearly indicates election interference, and they may not be wrong!
5:37 AM · Oct 30, 2023
