News
‘How It’s Going to Have to Be’: Judge Supports Some Restrictions on Trump’s Speech, Agrees to Some Defense Requests
The federal judge in charge of Donald Trump’s trial over his efforts to overturn the presidential election he lost agreed to both U.S. Dept. of Justice prosecutors’ requests and the ex-president’s legal team’s requests in determining the bounds of a protective order to be imposed on the indicted defendant.
“Mr. Trump, like every American, has a First Amendment right to free speech, but that right is not absolute. In a criminal case such as this one, the defendant’s free speech is subject to the rules,” U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan said, as CNN reports. “Without a protective order, a party could release information that could taint the jury pool, intimidate witnesses or others involved in some aspect of the case, or otherwise interfere with the ‘process of justice.'”
“The existence of a political campaign is not going to have any bearing on my decision,” Judge Chutkan told attorneys for both sides, NBC News reports. “I intend to keep politics out of this.”
MSNBC executive producer Kyle Griffin, citing NBC News adds: “Judge Chutkan says Trump has free speech rights, but his campaign will have to ‘yield to the orderly administration of justice.'”
“If that means that he can’t say exactly what he wants to say about people who may be witnesses in this case, that’s how it’s going to have to be,” Griffin/NBC News report the judge said.
“The defendant’s desire to conduct a campaign, to respond to political opponents, has to yield,” Chutkan also said, according to CNN.
Attorney, CNN legal analysts and former U.S. Ambassador Norm Eisen declared: “Single most important moment in the hearing on the Trump protective order so far: Chutkan says she ‘cannot & will not factor’ into her decision the effect on political campaigns for either side.”
He adds, “If she applies that rule to the scheduling order we are going to trial in Jan. 2024.”
MSNBC on-air reports Judge Chutkan has ruled that the “protective order will only apply to sensitive materials and not to all discovery in this case.”
Watch below or at this link.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has ruled that a protective order in Donald Trump’s election interference case will apply only to sensitive materials. pic.twitter.com/irTLLvB6xi
— The Recount (@therecount) August 11, 2023
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.