Appeals court to consider Trump's bid to pause gag order in special counsel's election interference case

Washington — Legal teams for special counsel Jack Smith and former President Donald Trump are set to face off in a high-stakes appeals court hearing on Monday over a federal judge's ruling limiting certain aspects of Trump's speech in relation to this case, ahead of his criminal trial in Washington, D.C. 

Trump asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn or pause District Judge Tanya Chutkan's October limited gag order — which is currently not in effect — that would bar him from publicly targeting individual prosecutors, court staff, or potential witnesses tied to the 2020 election-related federal prosecution. The special counsel had urged Chutkan to impose even broader restrictions on the former president's pretrial speech, alleging his public comments threatened the proper administration of the judicial process and might inspire violence from supporters.

Her order did not go as far as prosecutors had requested, but Chutkan said she was treating the former president like any other defendant by preventing him from publicly speaking out against those who might testify against him at trial.