No fan of Donald Trump, the American Civil Liberties Union said the October 17th gag order placed on Trump is against the former president’s First Amendment rights.
The gag order was slapped on Trump in the election fraud case against Trump in the state of Georgia by Judge Tanya Chutkan. The order prevents Trump from making public statements about Jack Smith, the defense counsel, and court members and their staff.
“No modern-day president did more damage to civil liberties and civil rights than President Trump,” the ACLU wrote. “But if we allow his free speech rights to be abridged, we know that other unpopular voices — even ones we agree with — will also be silenced.”
The ACLU argued that the gag order is unconstitutionally vague. “Reading the order, Defendant cannot possibly know what he is permitted to say, and what he is not.”
A constitutional gag order, argued the civil liberties organization, must be narrowed and tailored specifically to “prohibit imminent threads against individuals or conduct that would interfere with the administration of justice.”
Trump was also hit with a similar gag order in his New York fraud case, which he violated twice, according to New York Judge Arthur Engoron.
