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Appeals court upholds gag order on Trump in Washington case but narrows restrictions on his speech

Appeals court upholds gag order on Trump in Washington case but narrows restrictions on his speech
Left me there. It was *** dramatic and unexpected day in the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Donald Trump. Donald Trump was told to take the stand with very little warning and then he was fined $10,000 for insulting the judge's law clerk. Previously, Trump had been issued *** gag order because he despaired the clerk on social media. He was accused of violating that gag order today when he went outside the courtroom and told the press that he had problems with both the very partisan judge and the partisan who was sitting next to the judge with *** person who and he didn't, he didn't say exactly who that person was. And his attorneys claim that actually he was talking about Michael Cohen, his former fixer who was on the stand today for the second straight day. Trump took the stand. He maintained he was talking about Cohen, but the judge said that his testimony was not credible and he issued that $10,000 fine. *** few minutes later, Trump apparently frustrated, threw his hands in the air and he walked out of the courtroom seeming to surprise his secret service. His lawyers at that point asked for the judge to basically end the trial saying Cohen had proven himself not credible. And the judge replied, absolutely not. Today, the lawyers really pushed him on whether or not he had committed perjury in past testimony, whether or not he stands by his claims about Trump, not necessarily telling him to inflate his assets. At one point, Cohen kind of just went silent. He stopped responding to the attorneys and eventually he kind of conceded that Trump had not explicitly told him to inflate his assets. This is *** key point in the trial later on. He said, well, Trump talks like *** mob boss, you kind of know what he means. Even if I said before, he didn't explicitly tell me that I understood what was expected of me.
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Appeals court upholds gag order on Trump in Washington case but narrows restrictions on his speech
A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday upheld a gag order on former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election interference case but narrowed the restrictions on his speech. The three-judge panel's ruling modifies the gag order to allow the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner to make disparaging comments about special counsel Jack Smith. But the court upheld the ban on public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the case. Trump, who has described the gag order as unconstitutional muzzling of his political speech, could appeal the ruling to the full court or to the Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed the gag order in October, barring Trump from making public statements targeting Smith and other prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had lifted the gag order while it considered Trump's challenge. Prosecutors have argued the restrictions are necessary to protect the integrity of the case and shield potential witnesses and others involved in the case from harassment and threats inspired by Trump's incendiary social media posts. The order has had a whirlwind trajectory through the courts since prosecutors proposed it, citing Trump's repeated disparagement of the special counsel, the judge overseeing the case and likely witnesses.

A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday upheld a gag order on former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election interference case but narrowed the restrictions on his speech.

The three-judge panel's ruling modifies the gag order to allow the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner to make disparaging comments about special counsel Jack Smith.

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But the court upheld the ban on public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the case.

Trump, who has described the gag order as unconstitutional muzzling of his political speech, could appeal the ruling to the full court or to the Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed the gag order in October, barring Trump from making public statements targeting Smith and other prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had lifted the gag order while it considered Trump's challenge.

Prosecutors have argued the restrictions are necessary to protect the integrity of the case and shield potential witnesses and others involved in the case from harassment and threats inspired by Trump's incendiary social media posts.

The order has had a whirlwind trajectory through the courts since prosecutors proposed it, citing Trump's repeated disparagement of the special counsel, the judge overseeing the case and likely witnesses.