Federal District Judge Aileen Cannon in the United States rejected on Tuesday the special prosecutor Jack Smith’s request for a gag order against former President Donald Trump. Last weekend, Smith’s team asked Judge Cannon to issue a gag order against Trump. This move came after Trump revealed that recently released evidence documents indicated that FBI agents carried weapons and were prepared to shoot him during a search of his private residence at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. However, the FBI disputed these claims last week, stating that the documents only showed that the FBI agents were acting in accordance with the search warrant procedures within the agency.
In a paperless order, Judge Cannon dismissed Smith’s request, citing that she believed Smith’s request was “completely lacking in substantive content and professionalism.” She further added that the special prosecutor’s motion “failed to comply with… basic requirements,” and that “any non-emergency motion filed in this case, whether concerning release conditions or any other issue, must not be submitted without meaningful, timely, and professional negotiations.”
Judge Cannon also emphasized the need for “sufficient time for opposing counsel to assess the legal remedies (restraining orders) requested and engage in full subsequent discussions on the specific facts and legal bases underlying the motions when necessary.”
Smith’s team argued that the judge should take action to limit Trump’s speech following his claims regarding the FBI search. The submission from Smith’s team stated, “The government proposes to modify the terms of defendant Donald J. Trump’s conditions of release, explicitly providing that he may not make statements that pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement officers involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”
In response to Smith’s motion for a gag order against President Trump, Trump’s lawyers contended that the special prosecutor should be sanctioned for allegedly violating a provision requiring negotiations before submitting such documents.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, wrote on Monday, “For the reasons set forth… the Court should dismiss [the gag order] motion, find the Government lawyers who made the motion without meaningful consultation in civil contempt of court, and hold a hearing to inquire into the purposes and intents of the office in neglecting essential procedures.”
Todd Blanche requested that the prosecutors wait until next Monday to meet again for more preparation time, but Smith rejected this request citing Trump’s public statements as the reason.
Federal prosecutor David Harbach wrote to Trump’s lawyer, stating, “As we have tried to explain before, our judgment is that the situation created by your principal necessitated a prompt request for legal relief, not waiting until the weekend for submission. We understand your position and represented to the Court that you do not believe that the government had adequately negotiated this matter.”
Smith’s team insists that Trump’s speech should be curtailed by the court due to an attack on a federal FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio, in August 2022. They argue that the attack is related to Trump’s statements, as the attack and public remarks occurred in the same month.
Last year, during the pretrial process, Trump pleaded not guilty to the 37 charges in the classified documents case. Prosecutors allege that Trump refused to hand over the materials to federal officials, contending that the documents contain classified information about nuclear secrets, national defense capabilities, and other details.
Earlier this month, Judge Cannon indefinitely postponed the trial date in the case, citing numerous unresolved issues that needed addressing, including how to handle classified evidence under The Classified Information Procedures Act.
The judge expressed dissatisfaction with the past litigation procedures in the case, criticizing both sides for failing to negotiate before filing motions.
Meanwhile, the FBI issued a statement to The Epoch Times about a week ago, asserting that in the August 2022 raid, FBI agents “followed standard protocols during the search, just as we do for all search warrants, including adherence to a standard policy statement restricting the use of lethal force” and that “no one directed any additional measures, nor did they deviate from the norm in this matter.”
Trump, in campaign-related emails and statements, has suggested that the FBI was “cocked and loaded,” implying that the agency was ready to use force during the search.
This ongoing legal battle between Trump and the special prosecutor continues to unfold with twists and turns, highlighting the complex nature of the legal system and the challenges surrounding high-profile cases.