Judge Snubs Special Counsel, Issues Limited Gag Order in Trump Election Case

District Judge Tanya Chutkan opposed the request by prosecutors to bar former President Donald Trump form revealing non-sensitive evidence provided to him by the prosecutors ahead of the trial on whether he conspired to illegally obstruct the counting of the 2020 electoral votes.

Special counsel Jack Smith leaves after speaking to the press at the US Department of Justice building in Washington on Aug. 1, 2023.Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON—District Judge Tanya Chutkan opposed the request by prosecutors to bar former President Donald Trump from revealing non-sensitive evidence provided to him by the prosecutors ahead of the trial on whether he conspired to illegally obstruct the counting of the 2020 electoral votes.

During an Aug. 11 hearing in Washington, she decided to issue a gag order that only forbids the release of information prosecutors label as sensitive.