According to Newsweek, on Thanksgiving, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued in a court filing that a gag order against former President Donald Trump must remain in place. The filing emphasized documents filed as part of the $250 million civil fraud trial in New York, where state Attorney General Letitia James accuses Trump of fraudulently inflating the value of his properties in financial statements.
Cecil Vandevender, an assistant special counsel for the DOJ, notified the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals about the document, stating that a gag order needs reinstatement during the civil proceedings in New York. The court filing referred to threatening and harassing voicemail messages sent to Judge Arthur Engoron, overseeing the civil trial, and his law clerk Allison Greenfield.
The DOJ’s move comes as the appeals court in D.C. considers limiting the scope of the gag order imposed by Judge Tanya Chutkan against Trump in the federal election case. This order prohibits Trump from attacking prosecutors or any potential witnesses ahead of next year’s federal trial.
Trump and his legal team argue that any gag order against a presidential candidate violates his First Amendment rights. The D.C. appeals court previously requested evidence of “ongoing threats and harassment” surrounding Trump. Vandevender submitted evidence from New York on Thanksgiving to bolster the argument that the gag order imposed by Chutkan should remain in place.
The Gag Order appoints an unelected federal judge to censor what the leading candidate for President of the United States may say to all Americans, just weeks before the Iowa caucuses,” the statement said.
“No court has ever upheld a gag order on core political speech at the height of a campaign. Just yesterday, the New York Appellate Division stayed a similar gag order against President Trump’s core political speech. The unconstitutional Gag Order in the DC case should be speedily reversed.”
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Ewan Palmer
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy… read more
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99%
7 hours ago
The Courts have got to start treating Trump as a regular citizen, and stop treating him as though he is subject to a different set of laws.
Just because you can afford a defense, doesn’t mean you have a defense.
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Oliver
5 hours ago
It appears that he is held to a different standard than we have become accustomed to seeing.
His status as former president, current presidential a candidate puts the justice system in a precarious balancing act of due process and not infringing on political free speech. As has everything with Trum…
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Ken Hanig
6 hours ago
Should have been jailed like any other citizen for violating the gag order.
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3 replies
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GoForth
7 hours ago
It’s getting tiring listening to his defense “you can’t do that….I’m a Presidential candidate!” It is quite obvious that he’s a “Presidential” candidate for one, and only one reason: to protect himself and avoid his mountains of legal issues. He is not running again because he loved the job of bein…
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Shongo La
4 hours ago
I wholeheartedly agree with you, but unfortunately, I used the words “rabid” and suggested that someone needs a type of restraint that is used on some four legged furry faces in a previous post and it was rejected. So, let’s see if this one passes muster. I edited this one..again.
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Phlypp
5 hours ago
The economy has been continually improving once President Biden got control after the previous Administration left it in tatter. Gas is lower than pre-COVID (I just paid $3.12). Lowest unemployment in over 50 years. The President has also reduced the inflation rate from 8.5% to 3.2% needed for the …
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Biden I did that.gif
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Dave Cox
3 hours ago
Good luck with that – from Gallup:
Economic Confidence.GIF
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1 reply
DumpXiden
1 hour ago
+70% of Americans live pay check to pay check
If inflation numbers were calculated today as they were in 1980 we would still have double digit inflation.
+100 million working age Americans don’t work. If all of them were listed as unemployed instead of having most of them listed as not in the workfo…
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Joe Biden Inauguration GIF by Creative Courage
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Timekeeper
9 hours ago
The courts should not have to bend over backwards or wear kid gloves in dealing with trump.
If he is not above the law then prove that America IS equal Justice for all using the same laws for all of us. No other criminal defendant in this country has ever abused the court system as bad as trump has….
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GoForth
7 hours ago
Well said!
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Badnews
53 minutes ago
If the law were equal or fair this case wouldnt be a thing. First of all the person that brought these charges against him is obsessed with nailing Trump. It’s an AG that doesn’t understand how loans work. This over inflated value she is claiming is actually the value given by an appraiser that …
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Carl Williams
3 hours ago
So, I guess if you’re indicted for crimes, you get to say anything you want; hint at threats; disparage the court, court employees, prosecutors, and witnesses; encourage threats; intimidate witnesses and potential jurors; and lie — it’s all okay “free speech” if you’re running for political office….
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Cosmic
3 hours ago
Trump believes in the old saying, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but my words will never hurt you.”
Just ask Paul Pelosi how he ‘feels’ about Trump’s ranting and raving.
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Fox Free
3 hours ago
-and just where did you get the idea that that could happen?—-Jan 6th by any chance?
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Mjolnir
6 hours ago
Has there been any other Presidential candidate that has argued they should be free to threaten others? What exactly does running for president have to do with verbally assaulting people? It should be disqualifying in and of itself. Picture James Danforth Quayle getting Tourette Syndrome and goin…
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Phlypp
6 hours ago
Don’t do the crimes if you can’t do the time: an adage conservatives haven’t understood yet. No one’s fault but Donnie’s that he’s a criminal that continues to threaten witnesses just to rile the easily manipulated. And it works, Donald knows his cult!.
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Badnews
18 minutes ago
Have you ever gotten a loan? If you have did they ask you for the value of your collateral or did they send someone to check out that property for the people giving the loan? There was no crime committed. The ag brought this after she couldn’t find anything in his taxes to nail him on but she …
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E R
7 hours ago
“Engoron fined Trump twice in October for violating his gag order after the former president failed to remove a Truth Social post targeting Greenfield from his website more than two weeks after the judge ordered it be deleted,” Two weeks?
He should have been thrown in jail after a week. The judge d…
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Shongo La
4 hours ago
I don’t think he will go to prison. Can you imagine the nightmare for the SS staff. They would have to protect him there too, wouldn’t they? Trump is his own enemy and it is shocking that to some, he can still do no wrong. That scares me.
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fly’s-ointment
9 hours ago
Flithy MAGA sewers spew threats at judges and staff – because they believe that is what their hero wants.
Why doesn’t the Man of Steal come out and say “don’t do that” ? Because it is what he wants them to do.
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Michael B Maxwell
6 hours ago
“Man of Steal”: I like that.
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1 reply
Shongo La
3 hours ago
Yes, he is a super “man of steal”. How clever of you!
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Michael D Johnson
4 hours ago
Conservatives appear to not capable of civilized behavior. Conservatives have done more than any other group to erode America’s greatness. A great nation requires a educated and civilized population. Civility requires morals.
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The documents include transcripts of threatening messages and voicemails left for Engoron and his court staff, indicating a significant security risk. Charles Hollon, from the Public Safety Department’s Judicial Threats Assessment Unit, cited 275 pages of transcribed messages, characterizing them as “threatening, harassing, disparaging, and antisemitic.”
Hollon argued that the messages pose an ongoing security risk, and the reintroduction of the gag order would mitigate these threats. Trump’s office has criticized the gag order, alleging it restricts political speech during his 2024 presidential campaign and calling it unconstitutional. The DOJ’s court filing seeks to demonstrate the necessity of maintaining the gag order to ensure a fair and secure legal process.
