Trump asks appeals court to pause gag order in federal election subversion case

Former President Donald Trump is asking a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, to pause the limited gag order issued against him in his federal election subversion criminal case.

In a filing Thursday night with the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, Trump asked that the order imposed last month by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan be paused while his appeal of it plays out.

The former president had sought the same kind of relief from Chutkan, but she declined to grant it earlier this week.

Trump asked the appeals court to issue its ruling by November 10, but said that if it doesn’t grant him the relief he’s seeking, it should freeze the order “for seven days to allow him to seek relief from the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“The prosecution’s request for a Gag Order bristles with hostility to President Trump’s viewpoint and his relentless criticism of the government—including of the prosecution itself,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in the filing. “The Gag Order embodies this unconstitutional hostility to President Trump’s viewpoint. It should be immediately stayed.”

The former president argued in the 31-page filing that the gag order violates his First Amendment rights, with his attorneys saying that the order doesn’t pass the test courts use when reviewing matters related to speech.

“At the very least, it is subject to the most exacting scrutiny,” his legal team wrote of the gag order.

“Further, the Gag Order silences public criticism of quintessential public figures—speech entitled to the highest level of First Amendment protection,” the filing reads.

Chutkan issued the gag order last month after prosecutors raised concerns that the former president could intimidate witnesses or encourage harm against prosecutors through his public comments. Trump quickly appealed and sought to have the gag order paused while the appeal unfolded.

The judge temporarily froze the order on October 20 while special counsel Jack Smith’s team and Trump’s attorneys argued whether it should be paused indefinitely during the appeals process, but she reinstated it on Sunday and declined to pause it for the duration of the appeal.

“As the court has explained, the First Amendment rights of participants in criminal proceedings must yield, when necessary, to the orderly administration of justice – a principle reflected in Supreme Court precedent, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Local Criminal Rules,” Chutkan wrote in her order. “And contrary to Defendant’s argument, the right to a fair trial is not his alone, but belongs also to the government and the public.”

The order restricts Trump’s ability to publicly target court personnel, potential witnesses, or the special counsel and his staff. The order did not impose restrictions on disparaging comments about Washington, DC, – where the jury will take place – or certain comments about the Justice Department at large, both of which the government requested.

This story has been updated with additional information.