Donald Trump has lost his latest appeal of the gag order imposed on him by Judge Tanya Chutkan in the federal election interference criminal case brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

       A three-judge panel had previously upheld the gag order that forbids the former president from talking about witnesses and court staff, and 11 judges from the DC Circuit Court of Appeal have now declined to look further at the matter.

       Mr Trump could still try and bring the issue before the Supreme Court.

       Meanwhile, the former president resumed online attacks against E Jean Carroll after the latest instalment of her defamation trial against him in New York had to be postponed on Monday over concerns about exposure to Covid-19 in both the jury and the defence team, thwarting his plans to testify.

       Mr Trump’s attorney Alina Habba asked for the court to resume on Wednesday, one day after the New Hampshire presidential primary election, a request that Ms Carroll’s attorneys opposed.

       US district judge Lewis Kaplan duly agreed to postpone the hearing until Wednesday morning, allowing Mr Trump to return early to his campaigning in the Granite State.