2023-12-09 00:09:31
Former US President Donald Trump attends the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at New York Supreme Court on December 7, 2023. MIKE SEGAR / REUTERS
A US appeals court on Friday, December 8, reinstated most of the restrictions on the freedom of speech of Donald Trump and the prosecution regarding his federal trial for his allegedly illicit maneuvers aimed at reversing the results of the 2020 election.
The federal trial of the ex-president, current favorite in the Republican primaries, is due to open on March 4, 2024. Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over the proceedings, in October banned the parties from any public comment “aiming” prosecutors, court staff and witnesses in this case.
The three judges of the federal appeals court in Washington, seized by Mr. Trump who contested this decision, reinstated it, tightening it slightly, lifting the suspension that they had imposed on November 3, the time to rule in bottom.
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“We do not take this decision lightly”
He will now be free to lash out against special prosecutor Jack Smith, who, “as a senior government official exercising ultimate control over the conduct of the investigation”according to the court of appeal, “is no more entitled to protection against legitimate public criticism than the institution it represents”namely the Ministry of Justice.
On the other hand, any comments against colleagues, as well as court staff or their families, intended to “materially influence or cause others to materially influence their work”.
This ban also applies to “witnesses known or reasonably foreseeable with regard to their potential participation in the investigation or criminal proceeding”. “We do not take this decision lightly”writes Judge Patricia Millett in the judgment written on behalf of the court. “Mr. Trump is a former president and current presidential candidate, and there is strong public interest in what he has to say. But Mr. Trump is also a defendant in a criminal trial and must follow the same rules as everyone else.”she adds.
Trump invokes the First Amendment of the US Constitution
And as before, Donald Trump can continue to bombard his Democratic successor Joe Biden and accuse his administration of using justice to eliminate him from the race for the White House in 2024. He denounced this decision on his Truth Social platform. .
“People can talk about me violently and meanly, attack me in every way, but I am not allowed to respond to them in the same tone”he protested, invoking the first amendment of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of expression.
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“The record shows that ex-President Trump’s words have real-world consequences”underlines the Court of Appeal, noting the “torrents of intimidation and threats from his supporters” received by the targets of its vindictiveness regarding the 2020 election. It also specifies that the ban on attacking witnesses, particularly public figures, only concerns their participation in the investigation or trial.
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Donald Trump is also once again under a restriction on public comment at his civil trial in New York, which threatens his real estate empire, notably after a publication “degrading” on his part for the chief clerk of Judge Arthur Engoron.
A New York State appeals court reinstated these limits on November 30, suspended on November 16 while it ruled on the appeal, after the court reported a deluge of online insults aimed at the judge’s team, in particular the clerk.
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