The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s classified documents case on Tuesday denied special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a gag order to prevent Trump from perjury. He claimed that FBI agents were ready to kill him During a search for classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022.
U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon, who is overseeing the trial in Florida over allegations of Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, cited a “lack of meaningful bargaining” with the defense after ordering the special counsel to stop publicly smearing Trump and asking him to change the terms of Trump’s release. out.
Trump has claimed that President Joe Biden is “locked and loaded ready to take me out,” including during recent fundraising appeals, and that agents were allowed to shoot him during a raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach; Trump was not in Florida at the time of the raid, and the FBI said the warrant he seized contained typical language limiting the use of force.
Prosecutors said Trump’s statements would pose a significant, imminent and foreseeable threat to law enforcement agencies involved in the case.
Cannon did not deny the gag order request on its merits, but said Friday that the special prosecutor’s effort to speak to the defense “lacks substance and professional courtesy” after it was filed before the Memorial Day weekend. From Trump’s lawyers.
“[M]Beneficial handover is not a sordid exercise,” Cannon said Tuesday. “Sufficient time shall be afforded to permit a reasonable evaluation of the relief requested by opposing counsel and to allow for adequate discussion of the specific factual and legal bases upon which the motion is based.”
Cannon also criticized what prosecutors said were “redacted notes” to convey Trump’s defense team’s response.
On Monday, Trump’s lawyers asked Cannon to strike the government’s motion from the court record and sanction the prosecutors who drafted it, saying they violated procedure by submitting it without consulting the defense.
Cannon did not impose sanctions on Smith’s office, but warned that future failure to comply with his demands could lead to them.
The ruling followed back-and-forth appeals over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, with prosecutors in Smith’s office urging the court to limit allegations that Trump directed the government raid.
Prosecutors said Trump’s allegations posed a threat to law enforcement agencies acting “appropriately and professionally in accordance with the Department of Justice’s standard use of force policy.” The FBI said it followed standard protocol during the search.
“Trump’s repeated mischaracterizations of these facts in widely distributed messages have endangered law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case, and threatened the integrity of those proceedings,” Smith’s office said. he said. “The restriction prohibiting future similar statements should therefore be modified to prohibit future similar communications.”
Smith’s team asked Cannon to change the terms of Trump’s release so he could face higher penalties for statements the court determined would endanger law enforcement.
Trump has made claims of lethal force in recent times unsealed court documents In the case of Florida.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that the Biden administration had kept classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and accused in a fundraising email, saying Biden was “locked in and ready to take me out.”
Trump’s campaign over the weekend “RUN FROM TRUMP: BIDE’S DOJ IS AUTHORIZED TO HIT ME!” released a new fundraising appeal with the title
Trump was in New Jersey at the time of the raid.
Attorney General Merrick Garland substantiated Trump’s claim “false” and “very dangerous” and said preparations are being made for when the same form outlining the FBI’s use-of-force policy will be produced He searched Biden’s house in Wilmington, Delaware, for classified documents. The FBI has so far refused to release the Biden uniform.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he willfully withheld national defense information related to classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago after he left office and ordered the removal of the property’s security video. He faces dozens of felony counts, including making false statements and statements, conspiracy to obstruct justice, concealing a document or record, and corruptly concealing a document. The case was supposed to go to trial in federal court in Florida, but has been postponed indefinitely because of Cannon’s ongoing legal issues.