Jack Smith just defeated Donald Trump again
It’s important to keep in mind that even as Donald Trump keeps appealing his gag orders, and they keep being temporarily stayed, none of this is delaying his trial dates at all. Instead it’s simply a matter of Trump wanting to feel like he has some say over what’s happening to him. Not only are these gag order appeals unable to help him with his trial dates, he’s also losing the appeals.
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals mostly upheld the gag order that Judge Tanya Chutkan had put in place against Donald Trump. Trump is now allowed to say ugly things about Jack Smith himself, but no one else. In other words, Jack Smith has won again. He couldn’t care less what mean names Trump might call him. The gag order was about protecting Smith’s staffers, witnesses for the prosecution, and other people who aren’t in a position to fight back.
This also serves as a good reminder that just because an appeals court temporarily stays something like a Trump gag order, it’s not a sign that Trump is likely to win the ruling. In reality Trump keeps losing these rulings. And again, as a crucial reminder, these kinds of appeals aren’t delaying Trump’s trial date by even a single day. These aren’t “delay tactics.” They’re just temper tantrums from a defendant who knows he can’t do anything to avoid losing.
