A federal appeals court late Friday slapped down a gag order issued against former President Donald Trump, after his legal team filed an emergency motion Thursday to lift it while his appeal plays out before the court regarding the Biden DOJ's charges of conspiracy for challenging the results of the 2020 election.

According to a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, the gag order from District Judge Tanya Chutkan is "administratively stayed pending further order of the court."

The gag order prohibited Trump from making any public statements that might "target" the prosecution and defense legal teams, court staff, supporting personnel, and any "reasonably foreseeable" potential witnesses in the case. Trump had originally asked Chutkan to halt the gag order - which she briefly did, before later reimposing it after the prosecution handed her (Chutkan)

"The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the emergency motion for a stay pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion."

The move by the appeals court is the latest in the gag order saga, which was triggered by a request by special counsel Jack Smith and imposed when Judge Chutkan issued the order on Oct. 17.

President Trump has been outspoken in the past about Mr. Smith, who is leading the election interference case against him, and others.

The former president has pleaded not guilty in the case. -Epoch Times