Trump Seeks Removal of D.C. Gag Order, Arguing It Impedes His Campaign for President 

Attorneys for the former president are expected to argue that the case cannot be separated from his presidential campaign.

AP/Charlie Neibergall
President Trump speaks during a rally, October 16, 2023, at Adel, Iowa. AP/Charlie Neibergall

A federal appeals court at Washington, D.C., on Monday will hear arguments over a gag order placed on President Trump in the case against him concerning attempts to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.

In early November, a three-judge panel at the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily suspended a gag order placed on the former president to prevent him from targeting members of the court’s staff, prosecutors, and witnesses involved with the case. 

On Monday, that same court will hear arguments concerning the order, which was initially imposed by the district court judge presiding over the trial, Tanya Chutkan. Mr. Trump’s attorneys are expected to argue that the gag order is an unprecedented restriction on the former president’s political speech.

“No court has ever imposed a gag order on the political speech of a candidate for public office, let alone the leading candidate for president of the United States — until now,” one of Mr. Trump’s attorneys, John Sauer, wrote in a filing.

Mr. Sauer did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

While the gag order is suspended ahead of the hearing Monday, Mr. Trump has been vocally expressing his opinions on the case and Judge Chutkan on his social media platform, Truth Social, insisting “they” — seemingly referencing voters — support him more because of the legal cases against him.

“They fully understand the Obama appointed, Radical Left D.C. Federal Judge, who refused to recuse, fully ‘gagged’ me, and set a trial date THE DAY BEFORE ‘Super Tuesday,’ the biggest and  most powerful day in the Primaries,” Mr. Trump said.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked the appeals court to keep the gag order in place due to these “near daily” social media posts from Mr. Trump attacking him, his staff, and the court.

Attorneys for Mr. Trump are expected to echo his Truth Social posts, arguing that the case is inseparable from his presidential campaign and that limiting Mr. Trump from going after court staff, the special prosecutor, Mr. Smith’s staff, and those who might testify as part of the case would impede his campaign.

In a filing, Mr. Sauer took issue with the order barring Mr. Trump from making statements “about key aspects of his prosecution at the hands of the administration he is seeking to replace,” and said that the case and the campaign are “inextricably intertwined.” 

Despite Mr. Trump denouncing what he says is an unfair weaponization of the justice system, he told Univision last week that “it could certainly happen in reverse” if he is elected in 2024.

“If I happen to be president and I see somebody who’s doing well and beating me very badly, I say, ‘Go down and indict them.’ They’d be out of business,” Mr. Trump told Univision. “They’d be out of the election.”


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use