Trump vows to appeal judge’s gag order decision in Jan. 6 case

Former President Trump on Friday vowed to appeal a gag order issued by the judge overseeing his case related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

“An Appeals Court has just largely upheld the Gag Order against me in the ridiculous J6 Case, where the Unselect January 6th Committee deleted and destroyed almost all Documents and Evidence, saying that I can be barred from talking and, in effect, telling the truth,” Trump wrote in a Friday post on Truth Social. 

“In other words, people can speak violently and viciously against me, or attack me in any form, but I am not allowed to respond, in kind. What is becoming of our First Amendment, what is becoming of our Country? We will appeal this decision!” Trump continued in the post.

An appeals court mostly upheld the gag order that limits the former president’s statements aimed at foreseeable witnesses as he deals with the 2020 election case Friday. The three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals mostly went along with a previous ruling by the judge overseeing Trump’s election case, Tanya Chutkan, in their ruling. 

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judges decided to block the former president from making any statements “made with the intent to materially interfere with, or to cause others to materially interfere with” the course of the case. Special Counsel Jack Smith, however, was removed from the list of protected court staff, allowing Trump to direct his verbal fire at Smith.

Trump did not clarify whether he would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court or go first to the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in his Friday afternoon Truth Social post. 

Friday’s ruling comes alongside a busy legal time for the former president. Trump is set to testify in his civil fraud case in New York on Monday.