Prosecutors have submitted a request to Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of Federal District Court in Washington, asking for a “narrowly tailored” gag order on former President Donald J. Trump. The request comes following Mr. Trump’s frequent social media attacks on individuals involved in his federal indictment for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Prosecutors argue that these statements could affect witnesses and the potential jury pool for the upcoming trial in March.
In a 19-page motion, federal prosecutors expressed concern over Mr. Trump’s disparaging and inflammatory social media posts on Truth Social, his new platform. They compared these posts to his previous disinformation campaign regarding the 2020 presidential election, stating that they are intended to undermine public confidence in the judicial system and intimidate the court, jury, witnesses, and prosecutors.
The proposed gag order would prohibit Mr. Trump from making statements about witnesses or anyone involved in the case that could be considered disparaging, inflammatory, or intimidating. The prosecutors emphasized the need for a well-defined restriction that would prevent serious prejudice to the case.
The legal battle over a gag order on Mr. Trump is expected to involve arguments about his First Amendment rights. Given his status as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination and his intention to make the prosecutions a central issue in his campaign, the fight is likely to be intense.
John F. Lauro, Mr. Trump’s lawyer in the election interference case, declined to comment on the government’s request. A spokesman for Mr. Trump accused the Justice Department of attempting to deprive him of his First Amendment rights.
Within hours of the government’s request, Mr. Trump attacked special counsel Jack Smith on social media and in a speech, referring to him as “deranged.” He also criticized the attempt to silence him during a dinner for the conservative group Concerned Women for America.
Throughout his public life, Mr. Trump has frequently attacked his enemies, particularly through social media. However, now that he is facing multiple indictments, his threatening behavior clashes with the rules of the criminal justice system.
The request for a gag order was initially made in a sealed filing to protect the identities of those threatened. A public version of the request, with limited redactions, was filed by Mr. Smith’s team.
Mr. Trump’s threatening statements began soon after his indictment last month. In one social media post, he stated, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you.” While his campaign clarified that the statement referred to political adversaries, the government expressed concern about its impact and Judge Chutkan warned against intimidating witnesses or prejudicing potential jurors.
Despite the warning, Mr. Trump continued to make critical statements about Judge Chutkan and others involved in the case on Truth Social. Prosecutors listed numerous examples of these attacks, noting how they targeted Mr. Smith, the prosecutors, and the residents of Washington, who will serve as the jury pool.
The filing also highlighted Mr. Trump’s attacks on prosecutor Jay I. Bratt, who is handling another case against him. Mr. Trump accused Mr. Bratt of meeting with officials from the Biden administration, but the government pointed out that the meeting was part of the investigation into the classified documents case.
Prosecutors linked Mr. Trump’s out-of-court statements to the charges against him, stating that they often incited threats and harassment. They cited examples such as his attacks on Chris Krebs and his false accusations against Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, which led to threats and intimidation against them.
In conclusion, prosecutors have requested a gag order on Mr. Trump to prevent further disparaging and inflammatory statements that could harm the trial’s integrity. The legal battle over this request is expected to involve arguments about Mr. Trump’s First Amendment rights.
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