'Egregious and intolerable': Trump seeks to pause D.C. gag order after being fined

After Donald Trump was hit with a $5,000 fine for violating a court's gag order, he filed a motion asking a D.C. court to pause another gag order while he appeals it.

Trump, who was fined in his civil fraud case for leaving a post targeting a court staffer on his campaign website, is targeting the gag order imposed by Tanya Chutkan in the D.C. criminal case over alleged 2020 election subversion. His team argues in the filing that no court has ever imposed such a restrictive order on "a criminal defendant who is campaigning for public office—least of all, on the leading candidate for President of the United States."

"Given its extraordinary nature, one would expect an extraordinary and compelling justification for the Gag Order," Trump's legal team wrote in the Friday filing.

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The brief continues on:

"But that is conspicuously absent. Instead, the Court generically states it must enter the Gag Order to prevent supposed 'threats' and 'harassment.' This theory falters under even minimal scrutiny."

The filing relies upon the claims that Trump, who risks being jailed or hit with harsher financial penalties if he oversteps an order again, "has not unlawfully threatened or harassed anyone."

"Thus, unsurprisingly, the prosecution presents no witness who says they feel threatened or harassed by President Trump," according to the filing.

The motion argues that, "unable to justify the Gag Order based on President Trump’s actions, the prosecution pivots to third parties, alleging that unnamed others, outside of President Trump’s control."

"Such concerns cannot justify the Gag Order," Trump's lawyers argue in the brief seeking a stay of the order during appeal. "The Supreme Court has repeatedly explained that citizens of this country cannot be censored based on a fear of what others might do."

The motion goes on to argue that "this violation of the First Amendment is egregious and intolerable."

Read it here.