24 Attorneys General Ask Federal Judge to Reject Gag Order Against Trump

Two dozen attorneys general filed a motion that opposes special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a gag order in former President Donald Trump’s classified records case.

While a prior gag order request from the special counsel’s team was rejected by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on procedural grounds, prosecutors submitted a new request days later. The former president’s attorneys over the recent weekend filed a motion arguing that the latest request should be dismissed, too, on the grounds that it would violate his constitutional rights.

The attorneys general argued that the Smith motion should be denied because U.S. citizens “have an interest in hearing from major political candidates in the upcoming presidential election,” referring to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

“With these interests in mind, the Amici States believe that this Court should not order a restriction on President Trump’s speech,” their brief states.

“The presidential campaign is in full swing. As Americans turn their attention to the upcoming presidential election, courts should take special care to ensure voters can judge the candidates on their own merits. A prior restraint that might limit a candidate’s ability to campaign must meet exacting standards. The proposed order here would not meet those standards.”

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Suggesting that former President Trump’s comments about the FBI agents are part of his tactic of using “colorful rhetoric to communicate his intent to fight hard for Americans,” the attorneys general stated that he “has never threatened the law-enforcement officials involved in this case, nor has he invited others to do so.”

Smith’s Argument

Last month, Mr. Smith’s team argued that the former president made “grossly misleading” and “inflammatory” posts on social media and his campaign website that would potentially put law enforcement officials and trial witnesses in danger. They referred to his claims that unsealed court documents suggested FBI agents were “locked & loaded” during their 2022 search, referring to a boilerplate FBI use-of-force document.

The FBI told The Epoch Times that the document outlined standard policies that FBI agents can adhere to during the execution of search warrants.

“No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter,” a bureau spokesperson said at the time.

In the case, former President Trump faces 40 counts of illegally retaining classified documents after he left the White House in early 2021 and for allegedly obstructing federal officials’ attempts to retrieve them. The 45th president and two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, have pleaded not guilty.

In June, Judge Cannon indefinitely postponed the classified documents trial date. It isn’t clear when the former president’s trial will start or if it will begin before the November presidential election.

The judge cited a number of outstanding motions to dismiss the case as well as federal rules around how to handle large amounts of classified evidence at the center of the case as reasons to postpone the trial date.

Judge Cannon has scheduled a June 24 court hearing regarding the gag order request. She hasn’t set a timetable on when she might rule on the matter.

On May 31, the former president was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a separate criminal case in New York following a roughly six-week trial. In that case, former President Trump’s attorneys in April and May made First Amendment-related arguments in multiple attempts to have a judge rescind a gag order that prohibited him from speaking about witnesses, juror members, court staff, and members of the judge’s family.