Trump Takes The Fight To The Court, Challenges Judge's Gag Order Pushed By 'Deranged Jack Smith'

On Monday, leading Republican presidential candidate and 45th President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to make a stunning move that serves as an ultimatum to Washington, D.C. Judge Tanya Chutkan by attacking those who are prosecuting him in Jack Smith's 2020 election case and potentially forcing Chutkan to enforce a gag order against him. Trump's challenge concerning the gag order, which many Americans, including a majority of Democrats, see as a violation of Trump's First Amendment rights, puts the left-wing judge in a tight spot. If she decides to enforce the order, however, she would join New York Judge Arthur Engoron in punishing Trump for speech.

As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, Judge Arthur Engoron issued a gag order on the former president to prevent him from criticizing the court's staff on October 3rd. The issuance came after President Trump posted an image of a court clerk alongside Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on his Truth Social page. "Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I won't tolerate it," Engoron said at the time. "Consider this a gag order on all parties with respect to posting or publicly speaking about any member of my staff." Trump was eventually issued a $10,000 fine by Engoron for violating the order, and he also expanded the gag order to include Trump's attorneys.

In addition to Engoron's order, Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a gag order on President Trump to prevent him from criticizing those going after him in the 2020 election case. More specifically, the order restricts him from commenting on the prosecutors, court staff, and potential witnesses in the case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit eventually lifted the order last week, with oral arguments set for November 20th. However, that hasn't stopped Chutkan from attempting to reimpose it.

In his Truth Social post, Trump went after several Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, including Special Counsel Jack Smith, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Andrew Weissmann, a former DOJ official, and a nonprofit government watchdog organization called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). "Deranged Jack Smith, Andrew Weissmann, Lisa Monaco, the 'team of losers and misfits' from CREW, and all the rest of the Radical Left Zealots and Thugs who have been working illegally for years to 'take me down,' will end up, because of their suffering from a horrible disease, TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME (TDS!), in a Mental Institution by the time my next term as President is successfully completed," Trump wrote before signing off with "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

As Trump continues to take on the legal system while simultaneously running a campaign for president, the more he's forced to adhere to gag orders, the more he will be unable to lobby the votes of the American people. Gag orders directly impact the campaign trail and should be removed to ensure that the American people can hear what President Trump, perhaps the most famous man in America, has to say.

You can follow Sterling on X/Twitter here.