Former President Donald Trump on Monday tested a gag order imposed on him by a Washington, D.C., judge by saying those prosecuting him in a federal case involving alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 election will end up in a "mental institution" with "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan of the District of Columbia on Oct. 29 reimposed the gag order on Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, prohibiting him from publicly criticizing prosecutors and likely witnesses in the case, as well as members of the court's staff. Trump has said the gag order infringes on his First Amendment right to free speech.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump went after Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Andrew Weissmann, a former DOJ official, and the "losers and misfits" from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
"Deranged Jack Smith, Andrew Weissmann, Lisa Monaco, the 'team of losers and misfits' from CREW, and all the rest of the Radical Left Zealots and Thugs who have been working illegally for years to 'take me down,'" Trump posted, "will end up, because of their suffering from a horrible disease, TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME (TDS!), in a Mental Institution by the time my next term as President is successfully completed. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Chutkan's gag order is not the first to be placed on Trump this year. On Oct. 3, New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron placed a gag order prohibiting Trump from publicly disparaging court staffers in his civil fraud case, and fined Trump $10,000 on Oct. 25 for violating the order. Engoron then expanded the gag order to Trump's attorneys on Nov. 3.
In another post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump complained about being a victim of a corrupt judicial system and went after Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed a $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and the Trump Organization, claiming they overvalued their real estate assets.
"I am the victim of a corrupt legal system that is being used by those surrounding Crooked Joe Biden, with his full knowledge & consent, to hurt, demean, and damage his Political Opponent, ME," Trump wrote. "A terrible precedent is being set, but so far, despite the vulgarity & viciousness of it all, it has driven my poll numbers to record numbers. You see, the American people are MUCH smarter than Crooked Joe! They see what is going on with a Corrupt & Racist New York State A.G., and a Trump Hating Puppet Judge willing to do her dirty work, even as it takes him, and his reputation, to new levels of low."
NBC News reported Monday that Smith's office and Weissmann declined to comment, and that the DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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