Trump probably can't say special counsel Jack Smith 'looks like a crackhead' anymore after a federal judge imposed a limited gag order
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- Trump is now facing a limited gag order after a federal judge's ruling on Monday.
- Judge Tanya Chutkan's order will limit Trump's attacks on potential witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff.
- Trump has repeatedly criticized special counsel Jack Smith, including saying he "looks like a crackhead."
Federal judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday imposed a limited gag order that if it stands would force the end of former President Donald Trump's social media barrages against special counsel Jack Smith and his team.
Chutkan imposed the order limiting Trump's attacks on witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff involved with his pending criminal case related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The former president's attorneys had argued that imposing such a restriction would unfairly limit Trump's First Amendment rights, an argument Chutkan strongly rejected. Trump's trial is scheduled for next March.
"You keep talking about censorship like the defendant has unfettered First Amendment rights. He doesn't," Chutkan, an Obama appointee, said, per the Associated Press. "We're not talking about censorship here. We're talking restrictions to ensure there is a fair administration of justice on this case."
Trump's campaign immediately blasted the decision, which will impose some limitations on what the current frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination can say publicly. He could violate the gag order, but doing so could risk significant penalities, including potential incarceration.
"Today's decision is an absolute abomination and another partisan knife stuck in the heart of our Democracy by Crooked Joe Biden, who was granted the right to muzzle his political opponent, the leading candidate for the Presidency in 2024, and the most popular political leader in America, President Donald J. Trump. President Trump will continue to fight for our Constitution, the American people's right to support him, and to keep our country free of the chains of weaponized and targeted law enforcement," a Trump spokesperson said in a statement.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Smith, his team, and even Smith's wife since the special counsel charged him with four criminal counts related to his efforts to overturn the election results, including what the indictment claimed was an effort to obstruct Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's victory on January 6, 2021.
Trump has called Smith "deranged" and suggested he "looks like a crackhead." He has also called Smith's wife "a Trump hater" and pointed to her work on a documentary about former first lady Michelle Obama.
Chutkan's order does not restrict all of Trump's criticism. According to Politico, Chutkan did not impose restrictions on Trump's criticism of Washington, DC, Washingtonians, or limit criticism of the Justice Department more broadly. Specifically, Trump can still continue to claim the Justice Department's prosecution is politically motivated.