On Friday, special prosecutor Jack Smith asked the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s case classified documents case Prohibiting threatening statements to law enforcement in Florida.
The complaint is Smith’s second motion in days to urge U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon to change the terms of Trump’s release in the case. And as move beforeFriday’s motion was based on Trump’s false claims that FBI agents planned to kill him in 2022 while searching for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
“Trump’s repeated misrepresentations 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 said. in the documentation.
Trump had a campaign the fundraising email claimed President Joe Biden’s comments that he was “locked and loaded ready to take me out” echoed the former president’s similar statements about FBI agents.
Trump was not in Florida at the time of the raid, and the FBI said the authorization he cited contained typical language limiting the use of force.
The policy prohibits deadly force unless “the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or another person.”
“However, Trump grossly misrepresented these standard practices by characterizing them as a plot to kill him, his family and Secret Service agents,” Smith said in the motion. “These misleading and inflammatory allegations irresponsibly target the FBI agents involved in this case, as Trump knows full well.”
Smith’s earlier motion on the matter was denied Tuesday, as Cannon argued that the special counsel’s efforts to discuss the matter with Trump’s defense team were “completely devoid of substance and professional courtesy.” Trump’s lawyers argued that prosecutors violated procedure by not consulting with the defense before filing the plea.
Friday’s motion included an affidavit confirming that prosecutors spoke with the defense about the motion in a phone call on Wednesday, as well as by email on Thursday and Friday.
Trump’s lawyers asked to include statements from Trump confirming his “opposition to the proposal” in the affidavit.
“Essentially, President Trump’s position is that the requested change is a clear violation of President Trump’s and the American people’s First Amendment rights, and would in effect allow President Trump’s political opponent to regulate his campaign communications with voters across the country,” Trump’s team said.
Prosecutors have raised First Amendment issues in their motions, arguing that their request does not conflict with the amendment, often pointing to conditions of pretrial release, including restrictions on certain actions and speech.
Smith’s request echoes the gag order imposed on Trump in the business documents falsification case. Judge Juan Merchan ordered a jam, which prevents Trump from attacking jurors and witnesses. Trump was fined thousands of dollars for repeated traffic violations.