Trump rails against Jan. 6 case as judge weighs potential gag order 

A federal judge is set to hear from lawyers for former President Trump and the Justice Department after prosecutors asked for a “narrow” gag order that would bar Trump from attacking witnesses and others involved in his election interference case. 

The gag order is designed to address what prosecutors called “disparaging and inflammatory” remarks about nearly everyone involved in the Jan. 6 case, comments they say could taint the jury pool and intimidate witnesses who might be called to testify against Trump.

The former president, who will not be present for the hearing, lashed out on social media ahead of the event, including making false statements about the extent of the gag order. 

Trump said the order is trying “to silence me, through the use of a powerful GAG ORDER, making it impossible for me to criticize those who are doing the silencing, namely Crooked Joe Biden, and his corrupt and weaponized DOJ & FBI.”

“They want to take away my First Amendment rights, and my ability to both campaign and defend myself,” Trump added in the post on his social media site. 

The order actually would allow Trump to criticize President Biden as well as the Justice Department, though the department asked that the gag order limit Trump’s potential attacks on the team of special counsel Jack Smith. 

It also allows Trump to still talk about the case, including proclaiming his innocence. 

In making its case for such a gag order, the Justice Department cited a number of comments from Trump, including remarks in late 2020 when he attacked those who challenged his case that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Prosecutors also highlighted a series of comments Trump has made targeting witnesses, prosecutors, and the judge overseeing the Jan. 6 case.

“Since the indictment in this case, the defendant has spread disparaging and inflammatory public posts on Truth Social on a near-daily basis regarding the citizens of the District of Columbia, the Court, prosecutors, and prospective witnesses,” Smith’s team wrote in a motion asking for the order. 

“The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets,” they wrote.

The issue will be weighed by Judge Tanya Chutkan, who Trump has also repeatedly disparaged, including in his Monday morning post dismissing her as partisan.