Federal appeals court pauses Trump gag order in blow to Jack Smith

An appeals court victory set the stage for an accelerated showdown between former President Donald Trump and special counsel Jack Smith over gag orders.

Part of the perceived political persecution of the president has continued to be the alleged effort to silence him on the campaign trail through gag orders related to his federal indictments. On Friday, an all-Democrat panel of judges prepared to decide the matter on the Monday before Thanksgiving by staying U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s order.

Presiding over Trump’s case in Washington, DC over alleged 2020 election interference and his actions on January 6, 2021, Chutkan had imposed his gag order against the president on October 17 before it was reimposed on October 29 following the initial appeal. . After a filing Thursday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the panel ruled that “the order is administratively stayed pending further court order.”

“The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the emergency motion for a stay pending appeal and should in no way be construed as a decision on the merits of this motion,” the court made clear.

All three-judge Dem panel for DC appeals court issues temporary stay of Chutkan’s gag order, speeds up appeal process. Oral arguments 11/20. pic.twitter.com/xrlYTmNtQT

— Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) November 3, 2023

With the stated purpose of the gag order being to prohibit the president from “making public statements or directing others to make public statements, that goal,” Smith or his team, along with “any reasonably foreseeable testimony or the substance of the its goal”. witness,” the president had remained adamant that the order inhibited his ability to campaign for a return to the White House.

“No court in American history has imposed a gag order on a criminal defendant who is actively campaigning for public office, much less the leading candidate for the presidency of the United States,” he said in the filing Thursday , as he accused the gag order of “biting President Trump.” pivotal political speech during a historic presidential campaign.”

“Given the extraordinary nature of the Gag Order, one would expect an extraordinary justification for it. However, none exists,” it further argued. “President Trump has made months of public statements about this case, but the Department of Justice (“the prosecution”) presented no evidence of any real or imminent threat to the administration of justice. Instead, when he asked about the alleged threat to the case, the prosecution admitted, “of course, this bias is speculative.”

Trump appeal of limited gag… for Brett Meiselas

The same three-judge panel consisting of Judge Bradley Garcia, appointed by President Joe Biden, and Judges Patricia Millett and Cornelia Pillard, appointed by then-President Barack Obama, ordered “that this case be scheduled for oral argument before this court on Nov. 20. , 2023, at 9:30 a.m.,” at which time a decision will be made on the future of the gag order.

“The appellant should raise all issues and arguments in the opening brief. Ordinarily, the court will not consider issues and arguments raised for the first time in the reply brief,” they added.

At the time of this publication, Trump had not reacted to the stay, but had gone on the record after the gag order was reimposed, writing to Truth Social: “The corrupt Biden administration is killing me to take away my first amendment right to free speech. UNCONSTITUTIONAL! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN…”

Staff writer

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College, where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and seeker of truth, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and dog, and when he’s not researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel ·the.

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