Washington, D.C. – U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has denied a motion by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to submit an amicus brief in opposition to the gag order placed on former President Donald Trump.

The Government, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, successfully sought to gag Donald Trump and his defense team from making certain public comments about the case. Trump has challenged the gag order as violative of his First Amendment rights, and the ACLU attempted to argue on Trump’s behalf.

In her ruling, Judge Chutkan wrote “Although courts have in rare instances exercised their discretion to permit third-party submissions in criminal cases, neither the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure nor the Local Criminal Rules contemplate the filing of amicus curiae briefs.”

On October 25, the ACLU had expressed concerns that the judge’s order was overly vague and excessively broad, echoing arguments made by Trump’s legal team as they contested the restraining order.

Originally, the Special Counsel’s office sought to prohibit President Trump from making statements related to Washington, his belief in the political motivation behind the prosecution, and any comments that could be considered inflammatory or disparaging. However, Judge Chutkan took a different approach, restraining statements that “target” the legal teams, court staff, and potential witnesses. The exact definition of “target” was left undefined in her order.

The judge did clarify that the order did not completely curtail President Trump’s First Amendment rights, as he remained free to criticize President Joe Biden and the Federal Government in general, his primary political rival.

President Trump’s legal team is currently appealing the restraining order and had requested its temporary removal during the appeal process. However, Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected this request. The gag order will remain in place while the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals hears the appeal.

The criminal case is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Docket # 23-CR-00257-TSC, United States v. Donald J. Trump.