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President Donald Trump is seething at a gag order issued by a federal judge in a criminal case involving one of his political appointees, while his campaign is celebrating the order as proof of federal investigators’ bias against them.
The gag order, issued on Wednesday in the case of former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates, prevents lawyers, witnesses and other people close to the case from publicly discussing the case or its details. The order came down from U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson after Gates’ lawyers argued that loose talk by people associated with the case was making it hard to find an impartial jury.
Trump has been lashing out at the gag order, telling reporters on Thursday that he thought it was an outrageous request for someone to try to “impose a gag” on him.
The Trump campaign crowed about the gag order, claiming it was evidence of a politically motivated investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating possible ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia. In a statement, Trump’s lawyer, Ty Cobb, said the gag order was “more proof that this entire witch hunt has been a total sham.”
The gag order has been criticized by some legal experts for being overly broad and potentially unconstitutional. For instance, it does not distinguish between people close to the case, like family members or friends of the defendant, and people further removed, like freelance reporters or political activists.
At the same time, many legal analysts agree that it is necessary to protect the integrity of a case when prejudicial information is being discussed in the press and online. As one commentator put it, the gag order is a “classic case of balancing the need for a fair trial with the right to freedom of speech.”