U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday granted special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a limited silence order to prevent Trump from attacking prosecutors, witnesses and court officials involved in his federal case over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Smith’s prosecutors argued that Trump’s social media barrage and campaign trail claims could intimidate witnesses, increase the likelihood of violence and taint the D.C. jury pool ahead of Trump’s March 4 trial.

Chutkan heavily questioned Trump’s lawyer John Lauro about the language Trump has used online and in interviews in recent months, including calling Smith insane and his staff thugs.

If you call certain people criminals often enough, Mr. Lauro, doesn’t that suggest that someone should take them off the streets?

Lauro responded that Trump has the right under the First Amendment to campaign and speak on the news of the day.

“We are talking in this case about a censorship order that is unprecedented in our constitutional order,” Lauro said. Chutkan replied dryly, “There are many things that are unheard of in this case.”

Trump is accused of taking part in conspiracies to overturn the results of the 2020 election and thus remain in power despite defeat by Joe Biden. The charges are conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy against rights, and obstruction or attempted obstruction of an official proceeding. He has pleaded not guilty.

Chutkan warned Trump’s lawyers in August that his out-of-court comments on the upcoming trial could cause her to move up the trial date to avoid tainting the jury pool. Prosecutors argued that the warning did not stop the former president from attacking high-profile witnesses and court officials.

“We are here today not only because of the statements he made before the government’s motion, but also afterward, until last night!” Chutkan said.

Trump’s lawyers argued that the terms of his release placed enough restrictions on his speech to protect the trial.

“What you put in place is working,” Lauro said. Chutkan laughed in response. “I have to take that into account.”

Lauro said prosecutors have not shown that witnesses were informed. Chutkan noted that Smith has provided evidence of the effect of Trump statements on witnesses in other cases.

Recently, Trump suggested that former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley deserves to be put to death.

“This man turned out to be a woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them insight into the thinking of the President of the United States,” Trump wrote on his social platform. Truth Social. “This is an act so egregious that in the past it would have been punishable by death! A war between China and the United States could have resulted from this treacherous act.”

“We both know that the tweet, or whatever it was, about General Milley was a threat and was intended to be a threat,” said prosecutor Molly Gaston. Lauro said Trump has the right to talk about what kind of person he would choose as joint chief.

Trump and his lawyers have framed the potential order as a matter of free speech and warned that restricting his speech would unfairly favor his political opponents. Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, has also used the possibility of a silence order as a campaign and fundraising tactic.

Lauro complained that President Biden would not receive a silence order. Chutkan responded that Joe Biden is not a party to this case. He is not on parole conditions.

Gaston noted that the Justice Department is not asking that Trump be barred from campaigning.

“He could criticize President Biden to his heart’s content, your honor, because President Biden is not a party to this case,” Gaston said.

Any imposed prop is expected to be very limited.

The politics of any legal action involving Trump is hard to miss. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted that she attended the hearing as a member of the Oversight Committee to see if Judge Chutkan is really going to overturn former President Trump’s First Amendment freedom of speech…”

Trump is under a partial gag order from the judge overseeing a civil case in New York over whether he and his family inflated the value of properties they owned to obtain more favorable loans. The gag was imposed after Trump posted a photo of a law clerk on social media and said she was running his case.

Chutkan, who has repeatedly been the subject of Trump’s criticism on social media, questioned whether she should impose a similar order to prevent Trump from targeting her or her staff. Lauro argued that he would pass on her admonition to Trump, saying such a post would not be made in this case.

The court’s instructions and admonitions are heard by all, Lauro said.

Gaston disagreed, saying a gag order is necessary and that there is already a criminal threat in court.

Chutkan began the hearing by denying a special counsel motion to impose requirements on potential jury investigations by Trump’s legal team, short of a notice of intent to the court before moving forward. She said she sees no reason to micromanage, but that she would have to revise their methodology and questions if the defense files a motion to move locations.