Judge Denies Trump Gag Order Request
Judge Aileen Cannon ruled this week that she would not restrict the statements of former President Donald Trump during his ongoing trial related to the alleged handling of classified documents. The denial of the effort by special counsel Jack Smith represents a significant victory for the president, who argued that such orders were unconstitutional.
Cannon rejected Smith’s effort, stating that the filing did not give Trump’s legal team the time necessary to respond.
Smith had requested that Trump be barred from commenting on law enforcement involved with the case. Trump had stated that the FBI agents who raided his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022 as part of the investigation were authorized to use deadly force and implied that they could have killed him.
Trump wrote that the agents were “authorized to shoot me” and were “locked & loaded ready to take me out & put my family in danger.”
One of the prosecutors on the case wrote that Trump’s statement “necessitated a prompt request for relief that could not wait the weekend to file.”
Trump and those around him have also argued that the current case in invalid and should have never been prosecuted. They point to the lack of charges by special counsel Robert Hur over concerns regarding the alleged handling of classified materials by President Joe Biden.
Cannon also criticized the Smith team, stating that not complying with court procedures could lead to consequences.
The former president has stated previously that he opposed the gag order placed on him by Judge Juan Merchan during his New York case. The judge has fined Trump several times for alleged infractions of the restrictions.
Separately, Trump accused Smith “with his Team of Political Hacks and Thugs” of lying in the document case. The former president said that Trump wanted to “hide his own GRAVE MISCONDUCT, but must have been prevented from doing so by an Honest and Patriotic Eyewitness.”
Deranged Jack Smith, together with his Team of Political Hacks and Thugs, were once again caught in a LIE in the Sham “Documents” Case, far less in importance or gravity than Joe Biden’s Document Case, for which he was fully exonerated on the basis of his TOTAL INCOMPETENCE. They… pic.twitter.com/E0zwP4itmt
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) May 23, 2024
“The Corruption of our Justice System has to be put to an end, and those responsible, including Crooked Joe Biden and those controlling him, have to be held to account. MAGA 2024!” Trump added.
