Sept. 26 (UPI) — Attorneys for former President Donald Trump asked federal Judge Tanya Chutkan to reject prosecutor Jack Smith‘s request for a gag order in a 25-page filing on Tuesday.
The filing argues that the gag order proposed by special counsel Smith strips the former president of his First Amendment rights. Smith requested the gag order in the federal elections case against Trump in Washington earlier this month.
Trump is currently considered the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. The case in Washington is one of four ongoing criminal cases against him.
“Following these efforts to poison President Trump’s defense, the prosecution now asks the court to take the extraordinary step of stripping President Trump of his First Amendment freedoms during the most important months of his campaign against President [Joe] Biden,” wrote Gregory Singer, Trump’s lawyer. “The court should reject this transparent gamesmanship.”
Smith filed the request to restrict Trump from making statements that could influence the case, public or jury pool. The case is slated to go to trial in March.
Chutkan has not made a decision on the gag order. However, she has warned Trump against making inflammatory statements about the case. Smith had cited comments Trump made on social media as the impetus for a protective order.
Chutkan added that the ongoing presidential campaign would not “weigh on her decisions” regarding the case.
