Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office has once more asked a federal judge to impose a gag order on former President Donald Trump in his classified records case. They argue that new evidence, which includes an alleged threat against an FBI agent, justifies their request.
In a June 21 court filing, Special Counsel Jack Smith urged U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to approve his earlier request for a gag order.
Smith argued that new evidence supports his case, citing an alleged threat by a Trump supporter against an FBI agent. He claimed this incident demonstrates that former President Trump’s comments about law enforcement officials pose an imminent danger.
“Statements that present a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to the law enforcement agents working on this case pose a significant and imminent threat to the integrity of these criminal proceedings,” said the court motion.
The motion cites a June 11 incident where a Texas man allegedly threatened an FBI agent involved in the Hunter Biden investigation. The special counsel’s office identified the man as a Trump supporter.
“Just last week, a supporter of Trump called an FBI agent associated with the Hunter Biden case and claimed that, if Trump wins reelection, FBI agents will be thrown in jail; and if he does not win, the agents will be ‘[hunted] down’ and ‘[slaughtered]’ in their own homes, after which ‘[we’re going] to slaughter your whole [expletive] family,'” the court papers said.
“No court would tolerate another defendant deliberately creating such immediate risks to the safety of law enforcement, and this Court should not wait for a tragic event before taking action in this case,” Smith’s team added.
Several weeks ago, Judge Cannon dismissed a previous gag order request from the special counsel’s office, citing procedural and filing rule violations. Just days later, Mr. Smith’s team submitted another gag order request, which is still pending a decision from the judge.
In opposing the gag order, former President Trump’s lawyers argue that it would infringe on his First Amendment rights, especially as he leads the Republican candidates for the November 2024 election. They also contend that the request aims to limit what he can say during his first presidential debate against President Joe Biden at the end of the month.
Mr. Smith’s gag order request highlighted comments from the former president and his campaign about court documents released weeks ago. These documents included a standard FBI use-of-force policy that permitted agents to carry weapons during a court-authorized search warrant.
Meanwhile, last week, the New York Court of Appeals rejected a Trump appeal to rescind a gag order that was handed down by New York Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing a separate criminal case against the former president in Manhattan.
Several months ago, the judge implemented the order, prohibiting former President Trump from commenting on individuals connected to the trial such as witnesses, jurors, court staff, prosecutors, and more, though he is free to speak about the judge and District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The New York high court wrote in a brief ruling that it dismissed the appeal because “no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.”
It’s unclear if the former president’s team will appeal to a higher court.
“This Gag Order restricts President Trump’s core political speech on matters of central importance at the height of his Presidential campaign, where he is the leading candidate, and thus it violates the fundamental right of every American voter to hear from the leading candidate for President on matters of enormous public importance,” his attorneys wrote to the New York court.
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