The federal judge overseeing Donald Trumps 2020 election interference case in Washington agreed Friday to temporarily lift her narrow gag order . The ruling gives Trumps lawyers time to prove why the former presidents comments should not be restricted as the case heads toward trial.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the gag order would remain on hold for now while she considers Trumps bid to speak freely about the case while he challenges the restrictions in higher courts.

The gag order Chutkan issued Monday barred him from making public statements targeting prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses. Its the most serious restriction a court has placed on Trumps inflammatory rhetoric, which has become a centerpiece of his grievance-filled campaign to return to the White House.

Trumps lawyers, who quickly appealed the ruling to the D.C. Circuit Court, wrote in court papers Friday that neither prosecutors nor the judge have come close to justifying the gag order, adding that the former president has not unlawfully threatened or harassed anyone.

By restricting President Trumps speech, the Gag Order eviscerates the rights of his audiences, including hundreds of millions of American citizens who the Court now forbids from listening to President Trumps thoughts on important issues, the defense wrote.

Chutkan ordered special counsel Jack Smiths team to file by Wednesday any opposition to Trumps bid for a pause on the gag order while Trump pursues his appeal.

In her Monday ruling, Chutkan said Trump is allowed to criticize the Justice Department generally and assert his claims of innocence and his claims that the case is politically motivated. But she said his statements smearing prosecutors and likely witnesses have crossed a line and could spur his supporters to threaten or harass his targets.

At rallies and in social media posts, Trump has sought to vilify Smith and others, casting himself as the victim of a politicized justice system working to deny him another term.

Trump has decried the order as unconstitutional, and has used it to amplify his claims that he is being politically persecuted. The former president has denied any wrongdoing in the case charging him with illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden .

Its the second gag order imposed on Trump in the last month. The judge overseeing Trumps civil fraud trial in New York earlier this month issued a more limited gag order prohibiting personal attacks against court personnel following a social media post from Trump that maligned the judges principal clerk.

Trump was fined $5,000 on Friday after his disparaging post lingered on his campaign website for weeks after the judge ordered it deleted. Judge Arthur Engoron avoided holding Trump in contempt for now, but reserved the right to do so and possibly even put the ex-president in jail if he again violates the limited gag order.

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Richer reported from Boston.