“He can’t criticize the prosecutors. He can’t criticize witnesses. And Special Counsel Jack Smith just asked for this order to be expanded in an equally unconstitutional way,” says law professor.
The Washington, D.C., court’s gag order against former President Donald Trump is unconstitutional, according to George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley.
Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” host Laura Ingraham asked Turley about the gag order and whether the temporary freeze on it issued by a DC appellate court bolster’s the Trump legal team’s argument that it violates his First Amendment rights.
“[L]et’s start with the D.C. Circuit,” Ingraham said Friday. “Now, does this temporary freeze signal that there is likelihood of success on the merits with the Trump legal team’s First Amendment claims for lifting that gag order?”
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“Well, Laura, it’s hard to say because we have to wait to see how the panel reacts in its review, particularly the oral argument. They are essentially freezing any action here,” Turley said.
“They could have left it to continue, to continue while they reviewed it. But, they decided, perhaps in an abundance of caution, to order this stoppage until they can give it a full review. The reason I think this could be quite significant is I think that the order is unconstitutional. I said that when it was first issued.”
“It’s a very odd concept of an order because the court here insisted on having this trial before the election sort of shoe-horned it in before Super Tuesday,” he continued. “And everyone in this election is going to be talking about these cases, except one person under this gag order. And that is Donald Trump. He can’t criticize the prosecutors. He can’t criticize witnesses. And Special Counsel Jack Smith just asked for this order to be expanded in an equally unconstitutional way.”
“That has drawn the criticism, even of the ACLU, which is a staunch critic of Donald Trump, but the ACLU has said look, this is flagrantly unconstitutional,” he added.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday paused the gag order issued by District Judge Tanya Chutkan to give them more time to consider Trump’s request to pause the order while his appeal plays out before the court.
“The prosecution’s request for a Gag Order bristles with hostility to President Trump’s viewpoint and his relentless criticism of the government—including of the prosecution itself,” Trump’s attorneys told the appeals court in a filing Thursday. “The Gag Order embodies this unconstitutional hostility to President Trump’s viewpoint. It should be immediately stayed.”
Trump faces criminal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith alleging he sought to overturn the 2020 election on January 6, and faces up to 55 years in prison if convicted.
