Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys have asked a federal judge to reject special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a gag order regarding the classified documents case and to find the federal prosecutors in contempt. The request for a gag order was made by Smith’s office, seeking to limit Trump’s ability to publicly discuss law enforcement activities related to the search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, has criticized the FBI for their policy on the use of deadly force during the search, although this policy is standard procedure for all warrant executions. His attorneys argue that the gag order request is unconstitutional and an attempt to censor Trump’s speech as he campaigns for president.
The defense attorneys for Trump referred to the prosecutors as “self-appointed Thought Police” who are seeking to control Trump’s speech and condition his liberty on compliance with their own views. They specifically contested a provision in the gag order request that would allow a probation officer, rather than the judge, to decide if Trump’s comments constitute a violation.
In addition to rejecting the gag order request, Trump’s attorneys are calling for sanctions on all government attorneys involved in filing the motion. Trump is already under a gag order in the Washington, DC, federal election interference case and in a hush money trial in New York state court.
Special counsel Jack Smith has argued that Trump’s false claims about the search endanger law enforcement officers who may testify in the classified documents case. The FBI and Attorney General Merrick Garland have refuted claims that the search operation at Mar-a-Lago posed a unique danger to Trump’s life, stating that the same protocol was in place for a search of President Joe Biden’s Delaware home.
Garland and the FBI have emphasized that there was no departure from normal procedures in the search at Mar-a-Lago, despite Trump’s claims. They have also stated that the deadly force policy was standard practice and was included in plans for the search at Biden’s home. The allegations made by Trump regarding the search have been deemed false and extremely dangerous by Garland and the FBI.
