CNN
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The judge overseeing the federal election tampering criminal case against Donald Trump has been reinstated. Cake order He posted on the former president earlier this month.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Sutgan denied Trump’s request for a long-term stay of the order — which prevents him from publicly targeting former presidential court staff, potential witnesses or the special counsel panel — as his appeal ends.
Sudkhan’s ruling came out in a brief document on Sunday evening. Details of his verdict are not yet available.
Sudkhan issued the order earlier this month after prosecutors raised concerns that the former president could intimidate witnesses or harm prosecutors with his public comments. Trump quickly appealed, and Sudkon temporarily froze the order on Oct. 20 while special counsel Jack Smith’s team and Trump’s attorneys litigated whether to stay the order indefinitely during the appeals process.
The former president slammed the ruling party on Sunday evening, saying it violated his right to free speech.
“The corrupt Biden administration took away my First Amendment right to free speech. Not the Constitution! Make America Great Again…” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump now faces two gag orders barring him from publicly discussing aspects of his legal cases: one from Sutkan, which oversees the case brought by Smith in Washington, DC, and the other from the judge overseeing him. Civil fraud investigation In New York. While both of these directives are limited, they represent a measurable limit on the former president’s speech.
Lawyers from Smith’s office last week urged Sutkan to reinstate the gag order, arguing that it came shortly after Trump suspended the order. Reissued Posts on social media about prosecutors and potential witnesses in the case can be threatening.
Trump claimed in court that it violated his First Amendment rights and limited his ability to discuss the case on the campaign trail.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.
