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Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Former President Donald Trump has been placed under a partial gag order ahead of his federal election fraud trial. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued the order during a Monday court hearing in Washington as a result of inflammatory remarks the former president has made about the case on social media.
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The limited gag order prohibits Trump from issuing statements that target special counsel Jack Smith and his team, as well as staff working with Chutkan and other personnel in the D.C. district court.
"This is not about whether I like the language Mr. Trump uses. This is about language that presents a danger to the administration of justice," Chutkan said from the bench, as reported by NPR.
Smith's office initially called on Chutkan to impose the restrictions in an effort to stop his repeated verbal attacks on court officials and potential witnesses.
In the past, Trump has defended his commentary as protected free speech, however prosecutors argued that he is repeatedly attempting to contaminate the jury pool and incite the public with phony claims as he seeks the 2024 Republican nomination for president.
This new gag order prevents Trump and his attorneys from making statements likely to stain public perception about the case. However, Trump is still allowed to proclaim his innocence on the campaign trail.
Prior to the issuing of the order, Trump defense attorney John Lauro said it would be an "unconstitutional prior restraint" by the Justice Department, designed to derail Trump's 2024 campaign.
Since being charged, Trump has taken to social media to lash out at the "biased" judge and "deranged" prosecutors, while claiming the justice system is "rigged" against him -- leading the judge to warn that she would move up the March trial date if it would limit the damage from the continuing rancor.
Trump was indicted this summer by the same special counsel on 37 counts alleging mishandling of classified documents after leaving office.
In May, Trump was barred from posting evidence to social media about the criminal case in which he faces 34 felony charges related to falsifying records in a hush-money scheme.
In that case, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Juan Merchan declined to issue a gag order against Trump but did impose restrictions on what Trump could say online about any new information he gleaned through his attorneys before the trial, adding that the court's ruling did not violate the former president's First Amendment rights as a 2024 candidate.
In early October, Trump was put under a gag order in his ongoing civil fraud trial, in which New York Judge Arthur Engoron found the former president guilty of inflating the values of his state real estate properties.
During the penalty phase of the case, Engoron scolded Trump after the former president posted false claims about his law clerk on social media, warning, "Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I will not tolerate them under any circumstances."
Trump, who is the first president in history to face federal criminal charges, was also indicted with 19 co-defendants under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law for conspiracy to commit fraud in the 2020 election.
