Free speech? Key aspects of Trump gag order upheld by federal appeals court

Stepheny Price and David Spunt
Fox News
Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:18 UTC

© AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Dubuque, Iowa.

Appeals court affirms key parts of gag order on Trump statements about Jan. 6 case.

A federal appeals court has upheld key parts of a federal judge's gag order limiting what Donald Trump can say about his ongoing prosecution by the Special Counsel for alleged Jan. 6 election interference.

"We agree with the district court that some aspects of Mr. Trump's public statements pose a significant and imminent threat to the fair and orderly adjudication of the ongoing criminal proceeding, warranting a speech-constraining protective order," the appellate court said Friday. "The district court's order, however, sweeps in more protected speech than is necessary. For that reason, we affirm the district court's order in part and vacate it in part. Specifically, the Order is affirmed to the extent it prohibits all parties and their counsel from making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding."

Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to share more details about the gag order and how he is planning to proceed.

"An Appeals Court has just largely upheld the Gag Order against me in the ridiculous J6 Case, where the Unselect January 6th Committee deleted and destroyed almost all Documents and Evidence, saying that I can be barred from talking and, in effect, telling the truth," Trump posted. "In other words, people can speak violently and viciously against me, or attack me in any form, but I am not allowed to respond, in kind. What is becoming of our First Amendment, what is becoming of our Country? We will appeal this decision!"

Comment: Further reporting from Just The News:

Judge Tanya Chutkan's decision to bar Trump from making statements that "target" foreseeable witnesses was held up by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

However, the court refined the directive and barred Trump from any statements "made with the intent to materially interfere with, or to cause others to materially interfere with" the direction of the case, The Hill reports.

Special counsel Jack Smith was removed from the list of protected court staff, allowing Trump to make comments about him if he desires.

"We agree with the district court that some aspects of Mr. Trump's public statements pose a significant and imminent threat to the fair and orderly adjudication of the ongoing criminal proceeding, warranting a speech-constraining protective order. The district court's order, however, sweeps in more protected speech than is necessary," the panel wrote.

No doubt Trump will have a few things to say about Special Counsel Smith.