Current:Home > reviewsProposed protective order would infringe on Trump's free speech, his lawyers say -TradeWisdom
Proposed protective order would infringe on Trump's free speech, his lawyers say
View
Date:2025-04-13 03:25:49
Former President Donald Trump's legal team says that a protective order proposed by special counsel Jack Smith would infringe on Trump's right to free speech.
Trump's attorneys made the argument in their response Monday to the special counsel's motion for a protective order over the discovery evidence in the case against Trump for allegedly seeking to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of undertaking a "criminal scheme" to overturn the results of the 2020 election by enlisting a slate of so-called "fake electors" targeting several states; using the Justice Department to conduct "sham election crime investigations"; and trying to enlist the vice president to "alter the election results" -- all in an effort to subvert democracy and remain in power.
MORE: Special counsel alerts court to Trump’s social media post
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has dismissed the probe as politically motivated.
Monday's filing argues for narrower limits on the protective order, which Trump's attorneys say would protect sensitive materials while ensuring Trump's right to free speech.
"In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights," Trump's attorneys wrote in their filing. "Worse, it does so against its administration's primary political opponent, during an election season in which the administration, prominent party members, and media allies have campaigned on the indictment and proliferated its false allegations."
Smith's indictment against Trump, unsealed last week, disputes that he is being charged for exercising his First Amendment rights, instead alleging that he perpetrated three criminal conspiracies as "unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results."
Smith asked the judge for the protective order on Friday, referencing a social media post Trump made Friday afternoon in which he said, "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"
In a statement issued after Smith's filing on Friday, the Trump campaign said the post was aimed at political interest groups.
"The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech," a Trump spokesperson said in a statement.
The proposed protective order submitted by Smith does not seek to bar Trump from commenting on the case in its entirety, but would restrict Trump and his attorneys from disclosing evidence such as materials returned from grand jury subpoenas and testimony from witnesses and other exhibits shown to the grand jury. It does not limit Trump from discussing materials that were already available to the public separate from the government's investigation.
Smith's attorneys have said the proposed order is largely modeled after similar protective orders issued in other cases.
But in their filing on Monday, Trump's attorneys accuse Smith's team of asking Judge Tanya Chutkan to "assume the role of censor and impose content-based regulations on President Trump's political speech that would forbid him from publicly discussing or disclosing all non-public documents produced by the government, including both purportedly sensitive materials, and non-sensitive, potentially exculpatory documents."
MORE: Judge in Trump's Jan. 6 case gives attorneys 2 weeks to propose trial date
Trump "does not contest the government's claimed interest in restricting some of the documents it must produce" such as grand jury related materials -- but "the need to protect that information does not require a blanket gag order over all documents produced by the government," the filing says.
Judge Chutkan said in an order on Saturday that she would "determine whether to schedule a hearing to discuss the proposed protective order after reviewing Defendant's response."
veryGood! (81)
Related
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Laura Benanti Shares She Suffered Miscarriage While Performing in Front of 2,000 People Onstage
- For Successful Wildfire Prevention, Look To The Southeast
- Ukraine troops admit counteroffensive against Russia very difficult, but they keep going
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- To Avoid Extreme Disasters, Most Fossil Fuels Should Stay Underground, Scientists Say
- Woman loses leg after getting it trapped in Bangkok airport's moving walkway
- Grisly details emerge from Honduras prison riot that killed 46 women
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- California Wildfires Make A Run Toward A Giant Sequoia Grove
Ranking
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- Cara Delevingne's New Bob Haircut Is Guaranteed to Influence Your Spring Look
- The Climate Change Link To More And Bigger Wildfires
- This $13 Blackhead-Removing Scrub Stick Has 6,600+ 5-Star Amazon Reviews
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- A mega-drought is hammering the U.S. In North Dakota, it's worse than the Dust Bowl
- Prince George's Role in King Charles III's Royal Coronation Revealed
- JonBenet Ramsey Murder House Listed for Sale for $7 Million
Recommendation
'Most Whopper
Heat waves are dangerous during pregnancy, but doctors don't often mention it
A Single Fire Killed Thousands Of Sequoias. Scientists Are Racing To Save The Rest
Why Below Deck Sailing Yacht's Daisy Was Annoyed by Gary's Reaction to Her and Colin's Boatmance
How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
Climate Change Is Threatening Komodo Dragons, Earth's Largest Living Lizards
Our Future On A Hotter Planet Means More Climate Disasters Happening Simultaneously
The Federal Government Sells Flood-Prone Homes To Often Unsuspecting Buyers, NPR Finds