Judge Tanya Chutkan is hearing arguments Monday in Washington, D.C., to decide whether former President Donald Trump should be forced to abide by a gag order in his Jan. 6 case.
Special counsel Jack Smith said the limitation is necessary because the former president's posts on social media may threaten the legal process. But attorneys for Trump say this is an attempt to"unconstitutionally silence" him, arguing that he has a right to speak freely under the First Amendment.Trump is accused of emboldening protesters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to block the certification of President Biden's electoral victory.
Former federal prosecutor David Weinstein says Judge Chutkan will have to balance Trump's free speech rights against the prosecutors' concerns. "I think that this judge will look at a variety of gag orders that have been issues both in and around the district, and fashion one that allows people to have free speech, and then also requires them not to say something that's going to influence the outcome of this case outside the court," Weinstein said.
In a separate civil case in New York, Judge Arthur Engoron issued a limited gag order against the former president after he posted a photo of the judge's law clerk on social media.
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