Federal prosecutors in the case against former President Donald Trump for alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election requested a strict protective order barring him from speaking publicly about the evidence the fraud case after he posted on his personal social media outlet an apparent threat.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, presiding over Trump’s arraignment on four charges on Thursday, cautioned the former president that one of conditions of his release from custody was that he could not commit any crimes — and “that it is a crime to try to influence a juror, or to threaten or attempt to bribe a witness or any other person who may have information about your case, or to retaliate against anyone for providing information about your case to the prosecution,” as CrimeOnline previously reported.
“IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.
Trump’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination later said that the statement was not meant to be threatening and besides, it was protected political speech, The Hill reported.
“The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, and was in response to the RINO, China-loving, dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs, like the ones funded by the Koch brothers and the Club for No Growth,” a campaign spokesperson said.
Prosecutors from the office of Special Prosecutor Jack Smith pointed directly to the Truth Social post in a filing late Friday containing their proposed protective order.
“And in recent days, regarding this case, the defendant has issued multiple posts – either specifically or by implication – including the following, which the defendant posted just hours ago,” the prosecutors wrote, with a screenshot of the former president’s post.
Prosecutors said the protective order’s purpose was “to prevent the improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public,” ABC News reported.
“Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors said they had been working with Trump’s attorneys for a proposed order earlier in the day, but those negotiations broke down.
“If the defendant were to begin issuing public posts using details — or, for example, grand jury transcripts — obtained in discovery here, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case,” they added.
Former Trump White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham agreed, telling CNN the statement Trump made was “chilling.”
“Legally it doesn’t seem like it’s very smart, but how is that not intimidation?” she said. “What other people are going to take a message from that?”
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside of the case, gave Trump’s attorneys until 5 p.m. on Monday to submit a revised proposal or accept the prosecutors’ order. Trump’s attorneys immediately requested more time.
According to the prosecutions filing, they intend to begin handing over discovery documents as soon as they are satisfied that sensitive material will not find its way into the public sphere in whole or in part.
In a speech Friday night at a fundraiser hosted by the Alabama Republican Party, Trump told his audience that “the only civil rights that have been violated in this matter are my civil rights” and vowed political retribution should he win the 2024 election, as he has done several times in the past, CNN reported.
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[Featured image: Former President Donald Trump speaks at a fundraiser event for the Alabama GOP, Friday, August 4, 2023, in Montgomery, Alabama. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)]
