On January 6th, President Trump’s Justice Department reversed a gag order on the defense team for the six men accused of plotting the Capitol riot, but it was narrowed in scope. That had been one of the last orders of Joe Biden’s attorney general, Michael Mukasey.
The original gag order barred Donald Trump’s defense attorneys from discussing the case with anyone outside the legal team. Trump’s lawyers argued that it was a violation of their client’s First Amendment rights, and so they filed a motion to overturn the rule. The motion was successful, and the gag order has been adjusted to allow them to talk freely about the case, although they are still limited in the information they can release.
The main restriction of the new order concerns the dissemination of evidence. The defense team is still barred from sharing any information with the public or the media, or releasing any documents related to the case. Any information discussed must be used only to advance the legal strategy of the defense.
This limited gag order is in line with precedent set by previous criminal cases involving politicians. For instance, cases of Senator Bob Menendez and former Governor Rod Blagojevich both included the same type of restriction, though it was not included in the original gag order for this case.
In his ruling, Judge Beryl Howell mentioned that the defense team’s efforts to raise awareness of the case in the public forum could create liable issues for the US Government. This is why the original order was revoked, but the limited version was reinstated with the knowledge that Trump’s lawyers must carefully consider how they approach the case in public.
The ruling means that Trump’s defense team can still speak about the case in an open forum, but must take caution to avoid discussing any confidential information. Trump and those accused of involvement in the Capitol insurrection can still get their message out, but are prohibited from any information related to evidence in the case.