Things have gotten so crazy now that Trump isn’t even allowed to defend himself when getting ruthlessly targeted by the DOJ.
Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith has made an appeal to the federal judge overseeing the election fraud case involving former President Trump. The appeal was made on Friday evening and urged the judge to issue a protective order for evidence due to social media threats.
According to The Hill, earlier on Truth Social, the former president posted a statement that has drawn criticism from a former spokesperson, who described it as “chilling” and “witness intimidation.” In response to this, Smith argued that Trump should be restricted from publicly mentioning any details from the discovery documents and evidence.
Essentially, Jack Smith is now asking the judge to take away Donald Trump’s right to freedom of speech by trying force him to censor himself on social media.
Smith emphasized the potential negative impact such public posts could have on witnesses and the fair administration of justice in the case. However, attempts to negotiate a protective order with Trump’s legal team have been unsuccessful, causing delays in the prosecution’s ability to supply documents to the defense.
The prosecution offered two different protective order drafts to Trump’s legal team, both of which were rejected. In turn, Trump’s legal team proposed their version, which Smith deemed inadequate.
The Trump campaign denies that the Truth Social post was a threat to witnesses, claiming it was simply political speech directed at specific interest groups.
In a media appearance, Trump’s attorney, John Lauro, criticized Smith’s team for pushing the case forward too quickly, accusing them of showing little regard for justice.
Trump was indicted on four federal charges related to attempting to orchestrate a fake electoral college vote scheme to overturn the 2020 election results. At his arraignment, he pleaded not guilty.
Furthermore, Smith also indicted Trump in a separate federal case involving alleged mishandling of classified documents in June.