The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s confidential documents case reprimanded special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday, denying a request to block Trump from falsely claiming that FBI agents were prepared to kill him during the search of his Mar-a property -Lago to secret documents in 2022. .
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing Trump’s trial in Florida over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, cited a “lack of meaningful consultation” with the defense after the special counsel asked the judge to limit Trump’s release conditions by ordering Trump to publicly stop lashing out.
Trump has claimed, including in recent fundraising appeals, that Biden was “locked and loaded, ready to take me out” and that agents had permission to shoot him during the Mar-a-Lago raid; Trump was not in Florida at the time of the raid and the FBI has said the clearance he obtained was typical language limiting the use of force.
Trump’s statements could pose “a significant, imminent and foreseeable danger to law enforcement” involved in the case, according to prosecutors.
Cannon did not deny the request for a gag order on the merits, but said the special counsel’s attempt to consult with the defense was “completely lacking in substance and professional courtesy” after it was filed on Friday ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, the timing of which drew backlash from Trump’s lawyers.
“[M]Meaningful transfer is not a perfunctory exercise,” Cannon said Tuesday. “Sufficient time must be provided to permit a reasonable evaluation of the requested relief by opposing counsel and, if necessary, to permit adequate follow-up discussion of the specific factual and legal basis supporting the motion foundation.”
Cannon also criticized what she said were prosecutors’ “editorial footnotes” used to convey Trump’s defense team’s response.
On Monday, Trump’s lawyers asked Cannon to expunge the government’s request from the record and sanction the prosecutors who prepared it, saying they violated procedure by filing it without consulting the defense.
Cannon did not impose sanctions on Smith’s office, but warned that failure to comply with the judge’s demands in the future could prompt her to impose them.
The ruling followed a flurry of back-and-forth over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, with prosecutors in Smith’s office urging the court to limit Trump’s claims about the government’s handling of the raid.
Prosecutors said Trump’s claims posed a threat to law enforcement officers who had “acted in an appropriate and professional manner, subject to standard Department of Justice policy on the use of force.” The FBI said it followed standard protocol during the search.
“Trump’s repeated mischaracterization of these facts in widespread reports as an attempt to assassinate him, his family and Secret Service agents has compromised law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case and the integrity of this procedure threatened,” Smith’s office said. said. “A restriction that prohibits similar statements in the future should therefore be amended to prohibit similar communications in the future.”
Smith’s team asked Cannon to change Trump’s release conditions so that the former president would face stiffer sentences for statements the court ruled would endanger law enforcement.
Trump made the deadly force claims in reference to recently unsealed court files related to the Florida case.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the Biden administration “AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (DEADLY) FORCE” in its search of Mar-a-Lago for classified documents, and charged in a fundraising email that Biden “ was locked and loaded, ready to get me out.
Trump’s campaign issued a new fundraising appeal this weekend with the headline: “BREAKING FROM TRUMP: BIDEN’S DOJ WAS AUTHORIZED TO SHOOT ME!”
Trump was in New Jersey when the raid took place.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has called Trump’s claim “false” and “extremely dangerous” and said the same form outlining the FBI’s use of force policy was included in preparations for the search of Biden’s Wilmington home for secret documents. The FBI has so far refused to release the Biden form.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he deliberately withheld national defense information related to classified documents discovered at his Palm Beach estate after he left office and that he ordered the deletion of security footage in the pledge. He faces dozens of felonies, including false statements and representations, conspiracy to obstruct justice, concealment of a document or record and corruptly concealing a document. The case was scheduled to go to trial in federal court in Florida but was postponed indefinitely due to what Cannon said were ongoing legal issues.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
