It’s too difficult to write a real article summarizing the shitshow that was Monday’s hearing in DC Judge Tanya Chutkan’s courtroom as she weighed a motion from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s team to slap disgraced former President Trump with a gag order ahead of his trial in the district for his post-2020 election coup attempt conspiracy, so let’s just try to go in a straight line as sourced from top talent present in the courtroom such as CBS’s Scott MacFarlane and Politico’s Kyle Cheney. It’s already going pretty badly for the fat bastard:
Trump Defense lawyer John Lauro started off by arguing his client is “entitled to speak truth to oppression.. he’s even allowed to say things insulting to these prosecutors..as difficult as it may be for them to hear,” before mentioning something about “tyranny and the Biden Administration,” to which Chutkan cut Lauro off, saying she doesn’t want to hear “campaign rhetoric.”
Chutkan then told Lauro “Mr Trump is a criminal defendant. He is facing four felony charges. He is under the supervision of the criminal justice sytem and he must comply with the conditions of release. He does not have the right to say and do exactly as he pleases,” and that she’s not moving the trial start date. March 4, 2024 stands, deal with it loser.
Lauro then complained that any gag order would be “asymmetrical” and wouldn’t apply to Joe Biden. Chutkan then reminded him that “Joe Biden isn’t a party to this case… And he’s not under release conditions.” She then checked his whining with “Mr Lauro, let’s tone this down a bit.”
