Former President Donald J. Trump’s lawyers are pushing back against a request by federal prosecutors to limit what he can say about a case accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents after leaving office. The special counsel, Jack Smith, requested a limited gag order on Mr. Trump after he made misleading social media posts claiming that the F.B.I. was authorized to kill him during a search of Mar-a-Lago. Mr. Trump’s legal team accused prosecutors of censorship and targeting his campaign speech while he is a leading presidential candidate, and they requested that Mr. Smith face contempt sanctions for filing the request. The lawyers also asked for a hearing to determine Mr. Smith’s motives in making the request.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have been successful in delaying the trial in the classified documents case by scheduling various proceedings, and the legal battle between the defense and prosecution has intensified in recent days. Mr. Trump’s defense team accused Mr. Smith and his deputies of bias and misconduct, referring to them as “the Thought Police” and criticizing them for failing to follow proper procedures. The defense lawyers said they would oppose Mr. Smith’s request on substantive grounds at a later date, but for now, they criticized the prosecutors for failing to confer with them before filing the request.
The defense lawyers also highlighted other instances of what they called unprofessional conduct by prosecutors, including a prosecutor losing his temper in court. They accused Mr. Smith of pursuing media coverage rather than justice and claimed that he filed the request to restrict Mr. Trump’s public comments without following the necessary rules. The lawyers pushed back against the request, calling it unconstitutional censorship and targeting of their client, who is currently a leading candidate for the presidency. They accused Mr. Smith of being biased and reckless, driven by political animus against President Trump.
In response to the prosecutors’ request, Mr. Trump’s legal team filed a motion to Judge Aileen M. Cannon in Federal District Court in Fort Pierce, Fla., asking for Mr. Smith’s request to be stricken from the docket. They also requested that a hearing be held to determine Mr. Smith’s motives in making the request and to address the violations of proper procedures. The defense team accused Mr. Smith of pursuing media coverage rather than justice and criticized him for not following the rules that require opposing parties in a case to confer before making requests to the judge.
Overall, Mr. Trump’s legal team is challenging federal prosecutors’ request to limit what he can say about the classified documents case, accusing the special counsel of bias, censorship, and unprofessional conduct. The defense lawyers are seeking to delay the trial by bringing various issues before the court and criticizing Mr. Smith for procedural violations. The legal battle between the defense and prosecution has intensified, with the defense team accusing Mr. Smith of being driven by political animus against Mr. Trump and targeting him unfairly. Despite the ongoing conflict, the issues raised by both sides will need to be addressed by the court in order to move the case forward.
