Judge bars Trump from targeting prosecutors, witnesses in election case
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Donald Trump is barred from personally targeting Special Counsel Jack Smith, prosecutors working with him and court staff.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Monday barred Donald Trump from targeting United States prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses involved in a criminal case accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, pointing to disparaging social media posts from Trump, said she would not allow the former president, who has pleaded not guilty, to “launch a pre-trial smear campaign” against people involved in the case.
“No other criminal defendant would be allowed to do so, and I’m not going to allow it in this case,” Judge Chutkan said as she issued the order.
A Trump campaign spokesperson called the order “an absolute abomination”.
The order bars Trump, front runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and attorneys in the case from personally targeting Special Counsel Jack Smith, prosecutors working with him and court staff. It also prevents Trump from discussing potential witnesses in relation to their testimony at trial.
The ruling followed a two-hour hearing where the judge grilled a Trump lawyer about recent social media posts in which Trump referred to Mr Smith as a “thug” and the city of Washington as a “filthy crime-ridden embarrassment” and suggested former top US general Mark Milley committed an offence that would have once warranted death.
“This is not about whether I like the language Trump uses,” Judge Chutkan said. “It’s about language that presents a danger to the administration of justice.”
Trump’s lawyer John Lauro opposed any request to rein in Trump’s statements, saying it would amount to censorship during a presidential campaign. He said at the hearing that Trump would immediately appeal any order limiting his public statements.
Trump has successfully used the many legal threats he faces
Prosecutors sought a limited gag order barring certain statements from Trump during the case.
The judge said Trump could make critical statements about the US Justice Department and voice views that denounce the prosecution as politically motivated.
Mr Lauro said Trump was responding to “oppression” from the Justice Department and “has a history of using forceful language and creative language to draw attention to the problems of this country”.
Trump’s trial is due to begin in five months. He is charged with conspiring to interfere in vote counting and block the certification of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
A prosecutor working with Mr Smith said the order was necessary to prevent Trump from trying the case “in the court of public opinion”. REUTERS
