Washington [DC], August 11 : The judge hearing former US President Donald Trump’s case of alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 elections, said on Friday that although the former President has rights to free speech, these rights are “not absolute”, CNN reported.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan also said that she plans to put serious limits on how sensitive evidence is handled in the Donald Trump 2020 election interference case.
The former president has a right to free speech, but that right is “not absolute,” Chutkan said. “Trump, like every American, has a First Amendment right to free speech, but that right is not absolute. In a criminal case such as this one, the defendant’s free speech is subject to the rules,” CNN quoted her as saying.
Notably, this is the first hearing before Chutkan. She has already shown a habit of responding quickly and tersely on the docket to debates between the parties over scheduling.
An Obama appointee and former public defender who has overseen several cases regarding the events of January 6, 2021, Chutkan has been outspoken about the harm the US Capitol attack caused to American democracy, as per CNN.
Trump pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election last week, and the judge warned Trump about any possible intimidation of witnesses.
The district judge said that “whether or not Trump’s public statements are covered by the protective order that’s issued if they result in the intimidation of a witness or the obstruction of justice, I will be scrutinizing them very carefully.”
Trump’s lawyer John Lauro said, “President Trump will scrupulously abide by his conditions of release,” CNN reported.
Chutkan also adopted restrictions proposed by prosecutors that would bar Trump from publicly disclosing information from interview transcripts and recordings from the investigation, including from witness interviews with investigators that took place outside of the grand jury.
Notably, the way Chutkan handles the case is likely to serve as a contrast to US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee in Florida who has been in less of a rush to move proceedings along in the classified documents case against the former president.
Cannon has already been heavily scrutinized for what the critics call “favorable treatment” of the former president in a previous lawsuit Trump brought last year challenging aspects of the Justice Department’s investigation, according to CNN.
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