DC Appeals Court Rejects Trump’s Request to Reconsider Gag Order

AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected former President Donald Trump’s request that his partial gag order in his DC case be lifted.

In mid-December, Trump’s legal team asked for a full court review after a three-judge panel ruled to uphold a gag order from the trial court, limiting Trump’s ability to attack the court’s witnesses and its proceedings in his 2020 election subversion trial.

Politico’s Kyle Cheney first reported on the ruling and noted, “In a terse ruling on Tuesday, the full 11-member bench of the appeals court — which includes three of Trump’s own appointees — opted against reconsidering a three-judge panel’s Dec. 8 ruling upholding the gag order.”

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to restrict Trump’s attempts to intimidate the court, “citing threats to witnesses, attorneys and court personnel driven by Trump’s vitriol,” reported Cheney. Trump has also had a partial gag order placed on him in his New York civil fraud trial after repeatedly attacking the judge and his law clerk, which has resulted in hundreds of violent threats.

Trump may appeal further to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is a developing story and has been updated.