GAG ORDER IN LIMBO
A three-judge panel indicated on Nov. 20 that it might loosen, but not completely repeal, the gag order D.C. Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed in Donald Trump’s election interference case.
Tensions flared as judges pressed Trump attorney L. John Sauer on how courts should balance First Amendment interests against those of ensuring a fair trial.
Apparently frustrated, Judge Patricia Millet raised her voice during a back-and-forth over a hypothetical she posed to test Sauer’s position that there is a high bar for limiting a defendant’s right to free speech.
Former President Donald Trump prepares to testify during his trial in New York State Supreme Court in New York City on Nov. 6, 2023. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
Trump’s attorneys argue that there isn’t enough evidence to claim his speech poses an imminent threat to the administration of justice.
“A heckler’s veto” refers to the idea that an individual’s speech shouldn’t be limited because unstable individuals might respond with violence or other adverse activity. Trump’s legal team has argued that the gag order is unconstitutional because it uses a “heckler’s veto” as its justification.
The outcome is unclear as judges seemed critical of both sides’ positions, suggesting that neither side was giving room for the interests of the other. Millet was especially vocal, posing a series of hypotheticals to test each side’s positions.
At least two of the judges—Millet and Judge Cornelia Pillard—seemed unsure as to what the lower court’s order actually prohibited. The order has been criticized by Trump’s attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for being too vague.
“Target” is the operative word and source of much debate over Chutkan’s order. Justice Department attorney Cecil VanDevender suggested it meant singling someone out in a negative way.
Chutkan has defended her order, claiming that she had given sufficient context for determining what type of “target[ing]” was impermissible under her order. The appellate court has temporarily lifted the order while it reviews legal issues surrounding it.
Questions remain as to what exactly Trump can say if, for example, a witness decides to discuss events related to the case at a campaign event for the eventual Democrat presidential nominee. VanDevender told Millett that if a witness attacked Trump at a campaign rally, Trump couldn’t call them a “liar” but could say they were an “untruth speaker.”
VanDevender suggested the gag order prevented Trump from using inflammatory language to “trigger excessive zeal” among followers, as well as attacking potential witnesses’ credibility.
Sounding incredulous, Millett responded to the DOJ’s suggestion that Trump would have to file a court motion before calling out individual prosecutors. “He has to file a motion before he can say that?” she asked. “That’s not taking much account of the First Amendment.”
Trump’s New York gag order was temporarily lifted last week as it undergoes an appeals process. The judge in that case has fined Trump thousands of dollars for speaking about his chief law clerk.
Unprecedented in scale and nature, this case could reach the Supreme Court and have far-reaching consequences for how defendants’ conduct political campaigns.
The timeline of Trump’s trials coincide with the thick of the campaign season, raising questions about how the former president might defend himself as he faces public attacks.
—Sam Dorman
UKRAINE FUNDING
Don’t put daylight between U.S. support for Ukraine and for Israel, bipartisan senators said over the weekend at an international security forum in Halifax, Canada.
Punishing Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’ bloody aggression against Israel are part of the same project — to ensure global freedom, according to Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).
The trio was part of a five-person bipartisan, bicameral delegation to the 15th Halifax International Security Forum, also attended by military, diplomatic, legislative, and government officials from several Western countries on Nov. 17–19.
Bad actors on the international stage are increasingly cooperating like allies, according to Risch. Forum organizers named this band of ne’er do wells the CRINKs: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
“This group of people that share common values—or lack of values—which are very different than the democracies, these people are coming together more,” Risch said, citing the example of Iran providing drones to aggressive nations.
“Every time something happens, there’s Iranian drones,” Risch said. “They show up whenever we have trouble.”
The senator wasn’t shy about laying the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israel squarely at the feet of Iran. “This attack was started ... I have no doubt because everybody knew how close Saudi Arabia and Israel were getting to normalizing relations. Iran can’t stand that.”
Passing the supplemental aid package in Congress, which includes billions more in aid for both Ukraine and Israel, is critical to keeping these powers in check. Shaheen thinks Congress will get that done despite the current wrangling over the issue.
“Democracy is messy,” she said. “People have to talk about it and be heard.” But she and Risch were both confident Congress would act to resupply both nations.
That’ll have to come along with border security for the United States according to Rounds.
“Each of the groups that we’ve talked to—we’ve said this is going to determine whether or not there’s funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan,” Rounds told Punchbowl News in Halifax.
“Because how do you go back home and say you’re justifying their defense but you’re not protecting our own southern border? Without the border being addressed appropriately, nothing is going to move.”
Oleksandra Matviichuk, a human rights lawyer and head of the Center for Civil Liberties, tied a bow on the Ukraine question with this quote:
“Putin is not afraid of NATO. Putin is afraid of the idea of freedom, which came close to the Russian border and his world. We are fighting for freedom in all senses.”
—Lawrence Wilson
A CAUCUS LOOMS, AND HALEY RISES
Iowa’s Jan. 15 Republican caucus is less than two months away, and candidates have started to drop out—though not every minor contender has given up just yet.
Incredible as it may sound, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who failed to qualify for the last two presidential primary debates, has outlasted Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and former Vice President Mike Pence.
So has billionaire North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, best known for rewarding donors with $20 gift cards for $1 donations. The “hack” was enough to get him onstage in Milwaukee and Simi Valley, but the tech entrepreneur turned politician didn’t make the cut for the third debate, held in Miami earlier this month.
Some may wonder how long former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will stay in the race. Christie, who recently visited Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war, is under pressure from left-wing and liberal voices in the media to drop out.
The headline of a New York Magazine column captures a common worry in that world: “Christie Staying in the 2024 Race Is Just Helping Trump.”
For now, the former president has a comfortable lead in Iowa and other battleground states.
The big story: former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who is closing in on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis according to the RealClearPolitics polling average for the Iowa caucus. The same aggregator shows her ahead of DeSantis in New Hampshire, which will hold its primary Jan. 23, and South Carolina, where the state’s former governor will enjoy a home field advantage only amplified by Scott’s departure from the race.
But DeSantis has secured a key Hawkeye State endorsement in Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. In addition, while same-day registration could allow Democrats to influence the caucus, it’s still limited to registered Republicans; by contrast, the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries are totally open. DeSantis’s more conservative image may cost him in those states.
Look for more attempts by DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to differentiate themselves from Trump and an ascendant Haley at the next debate, slated for Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Dec. 6.
Haley’s fundraising this quarter will also be revealing. She met with GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson earlier this month in Las Vegas. Additionally, longtime DeSantis champion Ken Griffin is publicly weighing the possibility of funding her campaign.
It won’t be clear how much Trump, Haley, and the rest raised this quarter until Jan. 31, 2024, about two weeks after the caucus.
One dynamic worth tracking: whether Ramaswamy’s promised eight-figure ad blitz makes a difference in Iowa or New Hampshire.
In June, Ramaswamy campaign adviser Tricia McLaughlin told The Epoch Times her candidate hopes to finish first or second in the Granite State. If the polls are accurate, that’s pretty optimistic.
- Nathan Worcester
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Voters in Utah head to the polls for a special election to replace Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah). Stewart’s former staffer, Celeste Maloy, had won a three-way primary and was expected to sail to victory over Democrat state Sen. Kathleen Riebe in the Republican-favored district.
- Courts in Georgia, New York, and Florida will see action in three of the cases against President Donald Trump. In Georgia, a judge will hear arguments on whether Harrison Floyd, a co-defendant, should have his bond revoked. In New York, testimony continues in the civil case targeting Trump’s business. And in Florida, the government is facing a deadline to file a discovery report.
- President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden travel to Nantucket.
The richest man in the world has leverage with the most powerful government on the planet. Does free speech hang in the balance?
Elon Musk’s controversial X posts attacking anti-Western rhetoric from some left-wing Jewish groups have drawn condemnation from the White House and a defense from Ben Shapiro. But, as The New York Times points out, the Pentagon relies on Musk’s Starlink as well as his ability to launch U.S. spy satellites. Regardless of what Musk says or does, he appears to be the feds’ indispensable man.
The release of 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 footage by new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has shaken up Washington—and renewed demands for justice. The Epoch Times’ Jack Phillips reports on GOP calls for an investigation of the Jan. 6 Committee.
In 2020, Oregon decriminalized the possession of hard drugs in small quantities with Ballot Measure 110. The Associated Press reveals that opposition to the change has mounted in the increasingly drug-ridden state.
The Supreme Court will rule on a cast that could deal a blow to the administrative state. Justices are set to reevaluate the decades-old Chevron doctrine, which gives agencies wide discretion in interpreting vague regulatory laws. Sam Dorman and Matthew Vadum of The Epoch Times give you details of the case in plain English. Meanwhile, Reuters takes a deep dive into the background of the Chevron doctrine and detail the two-step process that makes it work.
In case you missed it, families of transgender kids have asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to block the state’s ban on gender transition medication and surgery for minors, the New York Times reports. To gain some context, check this report in The Epoch Times by Darlene McCormick Sanchez. Psychiatrists show how parents’ personality disorders are driving the surge in gender transition among children.
