The order is a fresh reminder that Trump’s penchant for incendiary and bitter rants about the four criminal cases that he’s facing, though politically beneficial in rallying his supporters as he seeks to reclaim the White House, carry practical consequences in court. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the federal case charging Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, had temporarily lifted the gag order as she considered the former president’s request to keep it on hold while he challenges the restrictions on his speech in higher courts.īut Chutkan agreed to reinstate the order after prosecutors cited Trump’s recent social media comments about his former chief of staff they said represented an attempt to influence and intimidate a likely witness in the case. The reinstatement of the gag order was revealed in a brief notation on the online case docket Sunday night, but the order itself was not immediately available, making it impossible to see the judge’s rationale or the precise contours of the restrictions. WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Washington on Sunday reimposed a narrow gag order barring him from making public comments targeting prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses.