Trump lawyers appeal against DC trial partial gag order: Live
Trump vows to ‘take over’ Washington DC: ‘We are going to make it beautiful’
Donald Trump’s legal team was in federal court in Washington, DC on Monday for oral arguments concerning the partial gag order imposed on the former president in his federal election interference case.
Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that Mr Trump cannot make “disparaging or “inflammatory” comments about people or entities involved in the case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Mr Trump’s team argued that as he is running for president any restrictions on what he can say while he campaigns would violate his right to free speech.
A panel of judges didn’t appear to buy that argument, but an official ruling is yet to be made.
Meanwhile, the former president’s civil fraud trial in New York enters its eighth week. In that trial, Mr Trump’s attorneys won a pause on the gag order imposed on him there.
Over the weekend, Mr Trump visited the US-Mexico border in Texas, where Republican Governor Greg Abbott endorsed his 2024 White House run.
Mr Trump served food to members of the National Guard and others stationed at the border for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday before a rally of his supporters.
Analysis: Trump un-gagged could prime his fraud trial for more chaos
For six weeks, lawyers with New York Attorney General Letitia James put more than two dozen witnesses on the stand and introduced dozens of documents to connect Donald Trump and his business empire to a decade of fraud allegations.
When the attorney general handed the case to his team of lawyers on 13 November, their first witness was Donald Trump Jr, who spent several hours testifying to his father’s “artistry” and “sexy” properties.
Two days later, Mr Trump’s attorneys demanded a mistrial. They lost. His attorneys also sued the judge overseeing the case, hoping to strike down a gag order that has blocked the former president from attacking court staff. They won.
Oliver O’Connell20 November 2023 23:45
Trump attorney asks Fulton County DA for help accessing federal evidence in DC case
Donald Trump’s attorney in the sprawling Fulton County election interference case in Georgia has asked District Attorney Fani Willis — who brought the case against the former president and his 18 co-defendants — for help gaining access to lists of evidence disclosed to Mr Trump’s defence team in his federal election interference case.
A protective order handed down by Judge Tanya Chutkan, at the request of Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith, prevents the disclosure of evidence ahead of the trial.
Georgia attorney Steve Sadow has asked Ms Willis to contact Mr Smith and ask if he will disclose discovery letter and lists of evidence to her, which she can then share with him as he builds his defence case in the state criminal indictment.
Given both cases involve interference in the 2020 election, there is potential for crossover between…
Read More: Trump lawyers appeal against DC trial partial gag order: Live