Trump lawyers appeal DC trial’s partial gag order: Live

But the justices also appear likely to narrow the scope of the provision, hoping to balance First Amendment protections and political speech against the wave of threats and harassment that Mr. Trump and his supporters have unleashed on prosecutors, judges, witnesses and prospective jurors involved in a growing list of lawsuits against him.

The gag order imposed by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan last month prevented Trump from launching a “preliminary smear campaign” as he seeks the Republican nomination for president in 2024, the judge wrote.

That order was halted by the appeals court in Washington, which heard arguments in the case Monday during a hearing that lasted nearly three hours. No decision is expected immediately.

Left activists in Virginia and Ohio in particular appeared energized by their victories, a much-needed boost to confidence and optimism after heartbreaking losses for the party in 2022 and 2021. Ohioans saw the election of the author and Trump to turn JD Vance into the US Senate, while Virginians witnessed the downfall of Terry McAuliffe, their state's former governor, as he tried to defeat Republican Glenn Youngin. Both were seen as blows to Joe Biden for different reasons — in Virginia, Mr. McAuliffe ran with Biden and was soundly defeated just months into the Biden presidency, and in Ohio the president lost a much-needed opportunity to pick up a vote for agenda in the US Senate.

But 2024 is on the horizon, and Democrats are looking ahead — though not without some significant sense of unease. Their current president is still in serious trouble, if the poll is to be believed, based on concerns about his age and his ability to represent America in a time of multiple global crises. At the same time, the prospect of a Trump victory — with the former president openly planning to unleash the powers of the federal government on his political enemies — is a real cause for concern for the country's future.

Buoyed by the party's victory on a ballot initiative enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, Ohio Democrats are mindful of the fact that no such issue will be as directly on the ballot next year. What this means for Joe Biden and other Democrats is simple: they will stake their own political reputations and that of the national Democratic Party.

If you listen to former Congressman Tim Ryan, this is a real problem.

When Donald Trump was inaugurated in January 2017, he became the oldest commander-in-chief to be sworn in at the age of 70 years and 220 days.

That was surpassed by his successor, Joe Biden, who was 78 years and 61 days old when he became the country's 46th president in January 2021.

Before Trump, Ronald Reagan was the oldest person to assume the presidency at age 69 and 349 at his first inauguration in 1981.

Reagan was the oldest president when he left office at age 77 in 1989, just 22 days shy of his 78th birthday.

But depending on who wins the 2024 presidential election, a new record could be set as both Biden and Trump seek re-election.

Speaking in Fort Dodge on Saturday, the former president cited the largely debunked 2016 dossier in which former British spy Christopher Steele alleged that Trump paid sex workers to urinate on him in a Moscow hotel.

Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, the Florida governor and 2024 candidate argued that he is in the “prime of my life” while his two rivals are far from it.

“I just think that's something that's been proven with Joe Biden. Father Time is invincible. Donald Trump is not exempt from any of this,” he said.

DeSantis, 45, said running the White House “is not a job for someone in their 80s.”

“I will serve two terms, deliver big results and get the country moving again,” he told CNN.

But the justices also appear likely to narrow the scope of the provision, hoping to balance First Amendment protections and political speech against the wave of threats and harassment that Mr. Trump and his supporters have unleashed on prosecutors, judges, witnesses and prospective jurors involved in a growing list of lawsuits against him.

The gag order imposed by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan last month prevented Trump from launching a “preliminary smear campaign” as he seeks the Republican nomination for president in 2024, the judge wrote.

That order was halted by the appeals court in Washington, which heard arguments in the case Monday during a hearing that lasted nearly three hours. No decision is expected immediately.

In a doctor's note released Monday, Donald Trump boasted he was in “excellent health as both he and potential 2024 challenger Joe Biden face ongoing questions about their age and mental fitness for the White House .

The letter added that Mr Trump showed improved results on some tests, likely due to “weight loss”.

Josh Marcus has the full story:

For six weeks, lawyers with New York Attorney General Letitia James put more than two dozen witnesses on the stand and presented dozens of documents to tie Donald Trump and his business empire to a decade of fraud allegations.

When the attorney general handed the case over to his team of lawyers on Nov. 13, their first witness was Donald Trump Jr., who spent several hours testifying about his father's “artistry” and “sexy” qualities.

Two days later, Mr Trump's lawyers asked for a mistrial. They lost. His lawyers also sued the judge overseeing the case, hoping to lift a gag order that prevented the former president from attacking court staff. They won.

Donald Trump's lawyer in the sprawling Fulton County, Georgia election meddling case has asked District Attorney Fani Willis — who prosecuted the former president and his 18 co-defendants — for help accessing lists of leaked evidence to Mr. Trump's defense team in the federal election meddling case.

A protective order issued by Judge Tanya Chutkan at the request of DOJ special counsel Jack Smith prevents disclosure of evidence before trial.

Georgia attorney Steve Sandow asked Ms. Willis to contact Mr. Smith and ask if he would disclose a discovery letter and lists of evidence to her, which she can then share with him as he builds his defense case. of the state criminal indictment.

Since both cases involve interference in the 2020 election, there is a possibility of crossover between the two criminal cases against the former president.

The federal trial is currently scheduled for March 4, 2024, while Georgia prosecutors have requested a trial date in early August 2024. The timing of Mr. Trump's two other criminal trials is expected to change, but the New York trial is scheduled currently set for March 25, and a trial on the federally classified documents is set for May 20.