Trump on gag order in Jan. 6 case: ‘We’re being railroaded’

Former President Trump on Tuesday criticized the partial gag order placed on him by the federal judge overseeing the prosecution of him for alleged crimes related to the 2020 election.

“We’re being railroaded,” the former president said outside of a courtroom in New York where he is facing a separate civil fraud trial. “And I have other trials … railroaded. You saw yesterday where they take away my right to speak. I won’t be able to speak like I’m speaking to you, and I’m not saying anything wrong; I’m saying the truth.”

“I won’t be able to do this with that trial,” Trump continued.

The gag order imposed by District Judge Tanya Chutkan prohibits Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and court staff and their families. Trump said Monday that he would appeal the gag order.

“Today a judge put on a gag order. I’ll be the only politician in history that runs with a gag order where I’m not allowed to criticize people. Can you imagine this?” Trump said to a crowd in Iowa. “We’ll appeal it, and we’ll see. But it’s so unconstitutional. The good thing is we have so much support it’s incredible.”

The order would still allow Trump to aim his verbal fire at President Biden and say that his prosecution has a political motivation. Chutkan’s order also followed a request by the Justice Department to limit the former president from what it said was his common practice “of issuing inflammatory public statements targeted at individuals or institutions that present an obstacle or challenge to him.”

“This is not about whether I like the language Mr. Trump uses,” Chutkan said. “This is about language that dangers the administration of justice.”