Jack Smith is out of control! Hopefully the judge stops him.
On Friday, Special Counsel Jack Smith requested a federal judge to prevent former President Donald Trump from describing the FBI’s 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago as a threat to him and his family. Smith argued that such statements endanger law enforcement agents.
In a motion submitted to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who oversees the classified documents case in Florida, Smith sought to restrict Trump from making claims that present a “significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents involved in the investigation and prosecution.” Trump had previously claimed in a campaign statement that FBI agents were “locked & loaded ready to take me out & put my family in danger.”
Court documents disclosed this week indicated that the FBI adhered to its standard use-of-force policy, which allows deadly force only if the officer reasonably believes the subject poses an imminent threat of death or serious injury to the officer or another person.
Smith’s filing emphasized that these “deceptive and inflammatory claims” put law enforcement professionals at “unjustified and unacceptable risks.” The FBI clarified that such precautions are routine and were similarly included in an operational plan for a subsequent search of President Biden’s properties in Delaware.
The Justice Department maintains that this policy is designed to limit, not encourage, the use of force during searches. Prosecutors highlighted that the search of Trump’s Florida property was planned when Trump and his family were not present and was coordinated with the U.S. Secret Service. Despite this, the revelation that numerous agents were prepared for potential violence alarmed Trump supporters, who argue that the situations involving Trump and Biden are not comparable, given the Justice Department’s affiliation with Biden’s administration.
Smith’s filing also referenced Trump’s claim that the FBI was “authorized to shoot me” and “itching to do the unthinkable.” Smith argued that such statements provoke threats and harassment against law enforcement officers, potentially compromising the proceedings and endangering their safety.
The operational plan became public when Trump’s legal team filed a motion to release documents related to the raid. Smith noted that Trump’s attorneys omitted the critical word “only” in their motion, misrepresenting the FBI’s use-of-force guidelines.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung described the efforts to restrict Trump’s statements as attempts to interfere with the presidential campaign. Trump faces charges for allegedly retaining classified documents at his estate after leaving the White House in 2021 and obstructing efforts to recover them. The FBI seized 33 boxes of documents during the search.
The investigation, led by Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has resulted in Trump facing 40 felony counts, including violations of the Espionage Act, making false statements, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Trump has pleaded not guilty and labeled the case an “Election Interference Scam” orchestrated by the Biden administration and “Deranged Jack Smith.”
Earlier this month, Trump called for Smith’s arrest after prosecutors admitted in a court filing that the order of some seized documents had been altered, contradicting previous statements that they were “in their original, intact form.”