Washington DC - Donald Trump and his legal team have asked a federal appeals court to pause the gag order put in place by Judge Tanya Chutkan in the federal 2020 election subversion case.

According to CNN, Trump attorneys submitted the emergency request on Thursday, describing the gag order as an attempt to silence "public criticism of quintessential public figures - speech entitled to the highest level of First Amendment protection."

"The prosecution's request for a Gag Order bristles with hostility to President Trump's viewpoint and his relentless criticism of the government - including of the prosecution itself," the filing argues.

"The Gag Order embodies this unconstitutional hostility to President Trump's viewpoint. It should be immediately stayed."

Donald Trump Trump refuses to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election

Judge Chutkan issued the order last month after Special Council Jack Smith, the prosecutor leading the case, filed two separate requests arguing that Trump was leading a "sustained campaign of prejudicial public statements" aimed at both of them.

The order restricts Trump from making public statements about witnesses, the prosecution team, and court staff, but he has defiantly continued to do so. Further defiance could result in sanctions or even jail time.

Trump's team asked that Chutkan lift the order, which she did temporarily as they appealed, but then reinstated the order, arguing that the "First Amendment rights of participants in criminal proceedings must yield, when necessary, to the orderly administration of justice."

Trump's team asked that the appeals court come to a decision by November 10.