Special Prosecutor Jack Smith A new claim was filed On Friday, they asked the judge over former President Trump’s classified documents case to block him from making any public statements that could put law enforcement at risk.
His latest request is similar to an initial one filed last week, pressuring Judge Eileen Cannon to issue a narrow gag order based on the former president’s false claims that the Biden administration was prepared to use deadly force against him in 2022 during a search of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
It also came the day after Trump was convicted in a New York hush money trial, making him the first former president to commit a felony.
“Mr. Trump repeatedly misrepresented these facts in widely distributed messages.
“The attempt to kill Mr. Trump, his family, and Secret Service agents endangered law enforcement officers investigating and prosecuting this case and threatened the integrity of that process,” the lawsuit states. “Restrictions that prohibit similar statements in the future do not restrict legitimate speech. Accordingly, Mr. Trump’s conditions of release should be modified to prohibit similar statements in the future.”
In a fundraising email earlier this month, Trump claimed President Biden was “ready and prepared to get rid of me,” a twist on standard language used in documents prepared by FBI agents as they prepared to search his Florida resort.
In reality, the law only allows for the use of deadly force “when necessary,” such as when someone poses an imminent danger to officers — and, as Smith’s lawsuit points out, the raids were deliberately carried out while Trump and his family were out of town.
“The FBI followed entirely standard and appropriate practices here,” Smith wrote, “but Mr. Trump severely distorted those practices by falsely portraying this as a plot to kill himself, his family, and U.S. Secret Service agents.”
“As Mr. Trump well knows, these deceptive and inflammatory claims irresponsibly target the FBI agents involved in this case,” he added.
Judge Cannon has postponed the case indefinitely for logistical reasons and denied Smith’s initial request earlier this week. She criticized prosecutors in the case for not contacting his legal team regarding former President Trump’s motion to restrict speech.
She also rejected a motion by Trump’s defense team to censure prosecutors in the case.
In Friday’s filing, Smith included documents proving prosecutors have had discussions with the defense.
“Government counsel negotiated in good faith to resolve the issues raised in the complaint but were unable to do so. Defendant Trump counsel has agreed that no further consultations are necessary,” he wrote.
Court documents include a statement from the former president’s legal team rejecting the allegations, calling them a “blatant violation of his First Amendment rights.”
