A federal judge on Monday issued a gag order on former President Donald Trump, limiting what he can say about special counsel Jack Smith’s federal prosecution into his alleged attempt to subvert in the 2020 presidential election.
The order restricts Trump’s ability to publicly target court personnel, potential witnesses, or the special counsel and his staff. The order did not impose restrictions on disparaging comments about Washington, DC, – where the jury will take place – or certain comments about the Justice Department at large, both of which the government requested.
“This is not about whether I like the language Mr. Trump uses,” Judge Tanya Chutkan said. “This is about language that presents a danger to the administration of justice.”
“His presidential candidacy does not give him carte blanche to vilify public servants who are simply doing their jobs,” the judge added.
Same thought here.
This ultimately means nothing if he doesn’t face any consequences for breaking the court order.
It’s been widely reported that she will move up the trial date which is the last thing he wants since his strategy is to delay until after the election at which time, if he wins, none of this will matter. The theory is that doing so gives him less time to intimidate witnesses and officers of the courts.