Special Counsel Jack Smith requested a gag order on Friday in former President Donald Trump’s case over alleged mishandling of classified documents, according to court documents.
On Friday evening, Smith asked presiding Judge Eileen Cannon to modify Trump’s “conditions of release” to make clear that he “may not make any statements that pose a substantial, imminent and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agencies investigating and prosecuting this case.” (RELATED: ‘Keep Calm’: Judge in Trump Dossier case rebukes prosecutor from Jack Smith’s team)
“The law enforcement officers involved in this case followed the Department of Justice’s standard use of force policy and conducted the search in an appropriate and professional manner. Mr. Trump’s repeatedly misrepresented these facts in widely distributed messages as an attempt to assassinate himself, his family, and Secret Service agents, endangering the law enforcement officers involved in investigating and prosecuting this case and jeopardizing the integrity of this process,” the lawsuit states.
Smith, Trump court filings by Haley On Scribd
“Restrictions on making similar statements in the future do not restrict legitimate speech. Therefore, Mr. Trump’s conditions of release should be amended to prohibit similar statements in the future.”
According to Fox News, Smith’s request came shortly after court documents were released regarding the language used by the FBI to authorize the Mar-a-Lago raid in August 2022. As part of the special counsel’s investigation, the federal agency’s “operational orders” were included in the documents released, indicating that the FBI “believed the purpose of the Mar-a-Lago raid was to seize ‘classified information, NDI and U.S. government records,'” the court documents state.
The operation’s “policy statement” used language regarding the use of “deadly force,” which stated that “Department of Justice law enforcement officers may use deadly force when necessary,” drew significant backlash online. Fox NewsThe FBI said the search of Trump’s private residence followed “standard” procedure.
“The FBI followed standard procedures in this search, as with all search warrants, including standard policy statements limiting the use of lethal force. No one ordered any additional steps to be taken, and no deviations from standards were made in this case,” the FBI told the news outlet.
“The standard use of lethal force policy statement that was included in the operational orders for the search of the former president’s residence was also included in the operational orders for the search of the sitting president’s residence in Delaware. This is standard practice in all FBI operational orders.”
Following the disclosure, Trump criticized the use of the term “deadly force” and said on Truth Social that President Joe Biden is a “serious threat to democracy.” Additionally, in a fundraising email sent on Wednesday, he reportedly said that President Joe Biden is “prepared and ready to take me down.” according to To Hill.
“Wow! Just got back from the Biden Witch Hunt trial in Manhattan’s ‘Icebox’ where I was shown the report showing that Joe Biden’s Department of Justice authorized the FBI to use lethal force in the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid,” Trump’s Truth Social post read. “We now know with certainty that Joe Biden is a serious threat to democracy. He is mentally unfit to hold public office – 25th Amendment!”
Smith’s lawsuit cites several statements Trump made about the language in the raid court filings, alleging that the language was “intentionally false and inflammatory” and was used “to misrepresent the circumstances under which the Federal Bureau of Investigation planned and executed the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago.”
“These statements paint a grossly misleading impression about the intent and actions of federal law enforcement officers, falsely imply that they were complicit in a plot to assassinate the President, and expose those officers who will testify at trial to risk of intimidation, violence and harassment,” the lawsuit states.
The FBI’s language was notably the same in the Biden secret documents search, but according to Fox News, the documents show that authorities planned to bring “‘standard issue weapons,’ ‘ammunition,’ ‘handcuffs,’ and ‘medium and large bolt cutters,’ but were instructed to wear ‘plain polo shirts or collared shirts’ and ‘keep their law enforcement equipment concealed.'”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang denounced Smith’s allegations in a statement Friday night, noting there have been “multiple attempts to silence” the former president, who is already under a gag order in a New York lawsuit over allegedly falsifying business records.
“Evil Joe Biden and his cohorts and thugs are hell-bent on stripping President Trump and voters across America of their First Amendment rights. Their attempt to silence President Trump during the presidential campaign is a blatant attempt to interfere in our election. This is the last tactic of desperate Democratic extremists waging a losing campaign for a failed president,” Chang said.
Fox News reported that Smith filed a 37-count felony indictment against Trump last year, including willful concealment of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. Smith has pleaded not guilty.
