Trump's 'Intolerable' Gag Order Is Reinstated

UPDATE Oct 30, 2023 12:30 AM CDT

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Sunday reinstated a gag order against former President Trump, denying his request to suspend the order and allow him to speak freely while his appeal plays out. The decision came two days after she temporarily froze the gag order while she considered Trump's request for an indefinite suspension of it amid his ongoing appeal, the Guardian reports. Prosecutors had argued the order should be reinstated because as soon as the stay was issued, Trump began posting intimidating messages regarding people involved in the case (like Mark Meadows). Trump was quick to respond to the news of the order's reinstatement on Truth Social, CNN reports. "The Corrupt Biden Administration just took away my First Amendment Right To Free Speech. NOT CONSTITUTIONAL! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN…" he posted.

Oct 21, 2023 7:00 AM CDT

Former President Trump got his wish in one of his multiple pending trials, at least for now. Earlier this week, Trump appealed a limited gag order handed down by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan regarding his election interference indictment, directing him not to make remarks targeting prosecutors, the judge's staff, or possible witnesses in the DC case. On Friday, Chutkan gave Trump a temporary reprieve, freezing her gag order so that both the government's and Trump's attorneys can have a bit more time to brief her on Trump's request to be able to speak unrestricted while his appeal plays out, reports ABC News.

Trump's legal team had pushed back on Chutkan's gag order almost as soon as she'd issued it on Monday, calling the restrictions on their client "egregious and intolerable," and insisting that Trump hadn't "unlawfully threatened or harassed anyone," according to court papers on Friday, per the AP. "By restricting President Trump's speech, the gag order eviscerates the rights of his audiences, including hundreds of millions of American citizens who the court now forbids from listening to President Trump's thoughts on important issues," his lawyers wrote in a 33-page filing.

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Chutkan noted Friday that special counsel Jack Smith's team has until Wednesday to respond to Trump's ask for a longer cessation on the gag order, per CNN. Trump's team, in turn, would then have until the following Saturday to respond to the Justice Department's filing. Trump hasn't been quite so lucky with a gag order in his New York civil fraud case: He was fined $5,000 on Friday after a disparaging social media post about a key court staff member remained archived on his website after the judge in that case had ordered it deleted. (More election interference indictment stories.)