A federal judge on Monday issued a gag order on former President Donald Trump, limiting what he can say about special counsel Jack Smith’s federal prosecution into his alleged attempt to subvert in the 2020 presidential election.
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 is not about whether I like the language Mr. Trump uses,” Judge Tanya Chutkan said. “This is about language that presents a danger to the administration of justice.”
“His presidential candidacy does not give him carte blanche to vilify public servants who are simply doing their jobs,” the judge added.
I doubt Trump will be able to resist attacking Jack Smith, but I’m 100% certain he’s going to violate the rule against targeting “potential witnesses.” That’s a very, very long list of people who are targeted regularly.
My bet is that he’ll screw up on Pence. It’s a narrow target at Pence and it’s functionally the only thing he can call him out on.
Other than Pence would lose a personality contest to Stephen Harper.