US Special Prosecutor Calls for Silence on Trump’s ‘Incendiary’ Statements | Donald Trump

The US special prosecutor prosecuting Donald Trump for election subversion has asked a judge to impose “limited restrictions” on the former president’s public statements, citing his frequent “inflammatory attacks” on the court, potential witnesses and citizens from Washington DC.

In a filing Friday, federal prosecutors asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a “narrow” gag order that would prohibit Trump from making any statements “concerning the identity, testimony or credibility of potential witnesses” and “on any party, witness, attorney, court personnel or potential jurors who are derogatory and inflammatory, or intimidating.”

The request noted his “almost daily” derogatory posts on the social media site Truth Social, including his post after his indictment that said, “IF YOU SUE ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU”; claims the justice system is “rigged” against him; attacks on Washington, DC, calling it a “dirty, crime-ridden” neighborhood where he says he won’t get a fair trial; and direct attacks on Chutkan, including calling her a “fraud masquerading as a judge” and of “radical hacking of Obama”.

The filing of Jack Smith, the special prosecutor, who himself has been denigrated by Trump as “deranged” and someone with “uncontrolled and senseless aggression,” says prosecutors were seeking a “clearly defined restriction that targets extrajudicial statements that present a serious and substantial danger of materially harming this case.”

Prosecutors noted that his social media attacks have already endangered the subjects of his vitriol, sometimes leading to violence: “The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he incites others to perpetrate threats and harassment against its targets. »

Chutkan had already warned Trump’s legal team about his statements. Last month, she told her lawyer: “I advise you and your client to be particularly careful in your public statements about this matter. I will take all necessary measures to safeguard the integrity of this procedure.

The request for the gag order came on the same day that unsealed documents revealed that Twitter, now known as X, turned over at least 32 private messages from Trump to prosecutors.

Repeated violations of silence orders in criminal cases can result in prison sentences for defendants. The judge set a trial date for March 2024 on the charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempted obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

In his separate criminal case in Georgia, Trump was released on the condition that he not intimidate co-defendants, witnesses and others.