Trump Judges Deal a Blow to Donald

Donald Trump suffered another legal setback in his federal election interference case, with a panel of judges that includes three of his own appointees declining to hear a gag order appeal. An expert told Newsweek what he expects Trump to do next.

The former president is facing federal criminal charges of conspiring to defraud the government and disenfranchise voters, and corruptly obstructing an official proceeding, for his efforts to contest and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The federal indictment against him came as the result of an investigation conducted by Special Counsel Jack Smith for the Department of Justice (DOJ). Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The judge overseeing the case, Tanya Chutkan, previously imposed a gag order against Trump last year barring him from discussing key figures involved in the case, after he shared several posts on social media disparaging Smith, herself, and others. Trump then attempted to appeal the order but was shot down by a three-judge panel with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, all three of whom, Patricia Millett, Nina Pillard, and Bradley Garcia, were Democratic appointees. The panel did, however, allow that Trump could make public comments about Smith.

"Mr. Trump's documented pattern of speech and its demonstrated real-time, real-world consequences pose a significant and imminent threat to the functioning of the criminal trial process in this case," the appeals court panel wrote at the time.

In response, Trump filed another "en banc" request, asking that the appeals court reconvene to have all 11 of its members consider removing the gag order. This latest attempt came up short, however, as the court announced on Tuesday that it would not be accepting the en banc request to reconsider the earlier decision of three of its members. According to MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin, the decision was unanimous, with no judge requesting a vote on the matter. This included three members of the court who were appointed by Trump himself: Neomi Rao, Justin Walker, and Greg Katsas.

"None of them did themselves any career favors today, but each of them protected the rule of law," Rubin wrote in a post to X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's office via email for comment.

The next step available to Trump is to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court (SCOTUS), which his legal team has suggested in the past that they intend to do. Speaking to Newsweek, Florida state attorney and legal expert David Aronberg said this was the most likely move, as it helps Trump continue to delay the proceedings as much as possible.

"The rehearing has now been denied, so the next step would be for Trump to take it to the Supreme Court," Aronberg explained. "I expect Trump to appeal to SCOTUS because it furthers his legal strategy of delay, delay, delay."