Judge reinstates limited gag on Trump following his post about Mark Meadows

The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference case has reinstated the limited gag order she imposed on Trump after temporarily halting it earlier this month.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan originally granted the limited gag order order on Oct. 16, prohibiting Trump from making or reposting statements “publicly targeting” potential witnesses in the case and the substance of their potential testimony, as well as statements targeting special counsel Jack Smith and his staff, Chutkan’s staff, and the staff of other D.C. district court personnel.

She then temporarily halted the limited gag order four days later, after Trump appealed the ruling.

In her opinion accompanying her order reinstating the limited gag order, Chutkan writes that Trump’s most recent comments on his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows — in which Trump responded to ABC News’ reporting that Meadows had earlier this year received immunity to speak with investigators — would “almost certainly” have violated her gag order had it been in place at the time.

Trump’s statement “singles out a foreseeable witness for purposes of characterizing his potentially unfavorable testimony as a ‘lie’ that was ‘mad[e] up’ to secure immunity, and it attacks him as a ‘weakling’ and ‘coward’ if he provides that unfavorable testimony — an attack that could readily be interpreted as an attempt to influence or prevent the witness’s participation in this case,” the judge writes.

Trump in August pleaded not guilty to charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election by enlisting a slate of so-called “fake electors,” using the Justice Department to conduct “sham election crime investigations,” trying to enlist the vice president to “alter the election results,” and promoting false claims of a stolen election as the Jan. 6 riot raged — all in an effort to subvert democracy and remain in power.