Current:Home > StocksAppeals court pauses Trump gag order in 2020 election interference case -Clarity Finance Guides
Appeals court pauses Trump gag order in 2020 election interference case
View
Date:2025-04-18 18:05:57
Washington — A three-judge appeals court panel paused the federal gag order that partially limited former president Donald Trump's speech ahead of his federal 2020 election interference trial in Washington, D.C., according to a court ruling filed Friday.
The ruling administratively and temporarily stays Judge Tanya Chutkan's decision to bar Trump from publicly targeting court staff, potential witnesses and members of special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutorial team, a ruling Trump asked the higher court to put on hold. Friday's order is not a decision on the merits of the gag order Chutkan issued last month, but is meant to give the appeals court more time to consider the arguments in the case.
Judges Patricia Millett, an Obama appointee, Cornelia Pillard, another Obama appointee and Bradley Garcia, a Biden appointee, granted the former president's request for an emergency pause on the order less than 24 hours after Trump's attorneys filed a motion for a stay.
The panel also ordered a briefing schedule with oral arguments before the appeals court to take place on Nov. 20 in Washington, D.C.
Chutkan's order, Trump's lawyers alleged in their Thursday filing, is "muzzling President Trump's core political speech during an historic Presidential campaign." His attorneys called Judge Chutkan's recently reinstated gag order unprecedented, sweeping and "viewpoint based."
The Justice Department opposed Trump's request and has consistently pushed the courts to keep the gag order in place. Judge Chutkan denied a previous request from the former president that she stay her own ruling, but this is now the second time the gag order has been administratively stayed — paused so courts can consider the legal question — after Chutkan herself paused her own ruling for a few days.
Smith's team originally asked the judge to restrict the former president's speech during pre-trial litigation, citing what prosecutors alleged were the potential dangers his language posed to the administration of justice and the integrity of the legal proceedings.
Chutkan only partially granted the government request, barring Trump from publicly targeting court staff, federal prosecutors by name, and potential witnesses in the case. The judge said at the time her order was not based on whether she liked the comments in question, but whether they could imperil the future trial. Trump, Chutkan said, was being treated like any other defendant. She said the president would be permitted to say what he wanted about the Justice Department and Biden administration and to broadly criticize the case against him.
The special counsel charged Trump with four counts related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election earlier this year. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges, denied wrongdoing and has accused Smith's team and Judge Chutkan herself of being politically biased against him.
But in numerous hearings, Chutkan has demanded that politics not enter her courtroom and said her gag order was not about whether she agreed with Trump's speech, but whether it posed a threat to a fair trial in the future.
The trial in the case is currently set for March 2024.
- In:
- Donald Trump
veryGood! (599)
Related
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- ‘You are the father!’ Maury Povich declares to Denver Zoo orangutan
- No. 1 recruit Jeremiah Smith ends speculation as Ohio State confirms signing Wednesday
- After approving blessings for same-sex couples, Pope asks Vatican staff to avoid ‘rigid ideologies’
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- 28 Products for People Who Are Always Cold: Heated Lotion Dispensers, Slippers, Toilets, and More
- Weekly US unemployment claims rise slightly but job market remains strong as inflation eases
- Golden Globe Awards attendees will receive $500K luxury gift bags: Here’s what’s inside
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Strong winds from Storm Pia disrupt holiday travel in the UK as Eurostar hit by unexpected strike
Ranking
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Oklahoma judge rules Glynn Simmons, man who wrongfully spent nearly 50 years in prison for murder, is innocent
- UEFA, FIFA 'unlawful' in European Super League blockade. What this means for new league
- Strong winds from Storm Pia disrupt holiday travel in the UK as Eurostar hit by unexpected strike
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Two county officials in Arizona plead not guilty to charges for delaying 2022 election certification
- The Super League had its day in court and won. What is it and why do some fans and clubs object?
- Lawsuit challenges Alabama's plan to execute a death row inmate with nitrogen gas
Recommendation
Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
Here are some ways you can reduce financial stress during the holidays
Toyota recalls 1 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles because air bag may not deploy properly
4 Indian soldiers killed and 3 wounded in an ambush by rebels in disputed Kashmir
Trump's 'stop
Who are the Houthi rebels? What to know about the Yemeni militants attacking ships in the Red Sea
US defense secretary makes unannounced visit to USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier defending Israel
UN says more than 1 in 4 people in Gaza are ‘starving’ because of war