Judge Chutkan Gives Donald Trump New Deadline After Truth Social Threat

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan on Saturday issued a new deadline for former President Donald Trump to respond to special counsel Jack Smith's request for a protective order as the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks to safeguard evidence and rein in Trump's public comments.

On Tuesday, the DOJ issued its latest indictment against Trump, charging him with four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. The indictment came after months of speculation over whether he would be indicted over the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, which saw a mob of his supporters, allegedly motivated by his unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud, violently protest at the U.S. Capitol building in a failed effort to block President Joe Biden's Electoral College certification.

During an arraignment hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Trump pleaded not guilty to the four felony charges. Meanwhile approximately 24 hours later, the former president posted the following to Truth Social, his social media platform: "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"

Later on Friday, the DOJ asked Chutkan who serves on the bench of D.C.'s federal trial court and was appointed by then-President Barack Obama in 2014, to issue a protective order that would limit the information Trump is allowed to share about the case. The Truth Social post was included as part of the DOJ's submission to the court.

In a Saturday filing, Chutkan wrote, "It is hereby ORDERED that by 5:00 PM on August 7, 2023, Defendant shall file a response to the government's 10 Motion for Protective Order, stating Defendant's position on the Motion."

Trump's lawyers then responded on Saturday asking for an extension to file a response to the motion for the protective order from Monday, August 7 to August 10 "to ensure counsel has adequate time to prepare a fulsome response."

"Additionally, a brief extension would provide time for the parties to meaningfully confer—and potentially resolve—this dispute without Court intervention. Without doubt, discovery in this case will be extensive and likely present numerous complex issues. For that reason, it is essential to structure the parties' discussions in a methodical and, ideally, cooperative manner," Trump's lawyers wrote in their court filing.

Chutkan also has a history with Trump, issuing a ruling against him nearly two years ago. In November 2021, the former president lost a bid to withhold documents from the House select committee that was investigating the events of January 6.

Trump had sued Representative Bennie Thompson, chair of the committee at the time, in an effort to prevent the panel from accessing documents in the National Archives. Trump claimed those documents were covered by executive privilege, but Chutkan ruled against him.

In her opinion, Chutkan wrote that Trump's executive authority "exists in perpetuity," and that "Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President."

A Trump spokesperson commented on the former president's post in an overnight statement to Truth Social and wrote, "The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, and was in response to the RINO, China-loving, dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs, like the ones funded by the Koch brothers and the Club for No Growth."

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

Meanwhile, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Newsweek on Saturday, "Jack Smith's response was to request a Protective Order from the court. That functions as a partial gag order. It will be difficult for Trump to comply with any such order, if granted. If he violates it, Trump could be wearing an orange jumpsuit sooner than later."

Laurence Tribe, professor emeritus of constitutional law at Harvard University, also commented on Trump's Truth Social post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday and wrote, "He's testing the waters to see how much he can get away with. This would land any other criminal defendant in jail for violating the conditions of his release and for intimidating witnesses. Let's see how Judge Chutkan handles this defiance of her judicial authority."

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance also posted to X on Saturday and wrote, "'If you go after me...' Of course Trump couldn't let a federal judge, & a woman at that, admonish him against committing further crimes. So he resorted to a threat."

Attorney and legal scholar Jonathan Turley posted on Saturday in part, "The existential threat of these cases has not reduced Trump exclamatory statements. He is also reinforcing the Smith's narrative with these postings. He is still firing in all caps as his lawyers prepare to ask the court for a dismissal."

While in her federal role, Chutkan has become known as the top punisher of all D.C. judges presiding over January 6 cases.

Chutkan was featured in an Associated Press article last June that was titled "In Jan. 6 cases, 1 judge stands out as the toughest punisher," and was found to be more likely to recommend jail time for convicted Capitol rioters than her colleagues, according to the AP.

The AP's article also said that Chutkan has "consistently taken the hardest line against Jan. 6 defendants of any judge serving on Washington's federal trial court," adding that she has even imposed tougher sentences than the DOJ recommended.

Update 8/5/2023, 1:58 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.