Donald Trump is facing a world of trouble with regard to his relentless public attacks and threats against anyone who dares to come after him — more namely, Garland-appointed DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith who has now lodged a whopping four formal criminal indictments against the scandal-ridden former president, with no end in sight.
Donald’s public behavior and rhetoric have grown so severe, in fact, that prosecutors with Smith’s office were left with no choice but to request an order of protection to be put into place against former President Trump, as his threats have reached a boiling point that Smith and his office fear “could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses.”
Of course, instead of tucking his tail and shutting his mouth like one would be expected to do in a situation like this, Trump and his people have only grown more vehement in doubling down on their dangerous rhetoric — much to what we can only imagine is the intense dismay of the legal team that’s been tasked with defending this disgraced blowhard.
Even yesterday, as Trump’s team of attorneys was facing down a strict, critical deadline in connection to the aforementioned threats and subsequent protective order, their client was making a complete ass out of himself, launching yet another fresh round of the very same attacks he’s standing accused of.
Nevertheless, Donald Trump’s legal team was able to complete their response by the deadline.
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In their response, filed yesterday, the team of Trump attorneys wrote:
President Trump does not contest the government’s claimed interest in restricting some of the documents it must produce. …However, the need to protect that information does not require a blanket gag order over all documents produced by the government.
Rather, the Court can, and should, limit its protective order to genuinely sensitive materials – a less restrictive alternative that would satisfy any government interest in confidentiality while preserving the First Amendment rights of President Trump and the public.”
At first glance, as noted by CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, it certainly seems as though Trump and his team are willing to settle on something that’s not too far removed from what prosecutors are seeking in their proposed protective order.
However, legal experts have since taken a closer look at the Trump team response, and they’re not convinced that the former president is trying to be civilized and agreeable here. In fact, quite the opposite.
Trump attorney John Lauro filed the 29-page response just five minutes before the 5:00 PM deadline, and wrote, “In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights.” This is a blatantly false claim, as this trial is not about the First Amendment, it’s about Donald Trump’s efforts to overthrow a United States presidential election.
Legal experts across the country were quick to dismantle this nonsense, with some even citing it as “proof” that Donald Trump wants to do exactly what Smith and his prosecutors are afraid of — expose, threaten, intimidate, and endanger key witnesses in the case.
Foreign policy, national security, and political affairs expert David Rothkopf said:
The law upon which this document filed by Trump’s lawyers depends are the commandments as handed down on Truth Social. It parrots Trump ideas–see below–that are irrelevant legally and often distortions or lies. https://t.co/BekWmmz4fz
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) August 7, 2023
The Messenger’s Adam Klasfeld notes:
Team Trump wants to broaden the network of people allowed to view “Sensitive Materials” to include unpaid volunteers.
Developing, @TheMessenger https://t.co/Mp0n39g6KA pic.twitter.com/1aknUaGOYt
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) August 7, 2023
MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin offered a very in-depth analysis in a 5-part Twitter thread:
NEW: In opposing the Special Counsel’s proposed protective order tonight, Trump’s team accuses “the Biden Justice Department” of “wait[ing] over two-and-a-half years to seek this indictment, during an election cycle in which President Trump is the leading candidate.” 1/
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) August 7, 2023
Even more specifically, Rubin says that “The most important thing to know about Trump’s opposition to the government’s proposed protective order is this: He wants the freedom to disclose witness interviews, recordings, etc. conducted outside the grand jury.”
“That would theoretically allow him to reveal the names and publish the statements of those who spoke to DOJ/the Special Counsel *outside the grand jury* and/or could be cooperating,” she further explains. “A protective order that allows Trump to reveal the identity of witnesses and discuss the substance of their statements outside the grand jury could 1) prejudice potential jurors; and 2) intimidate, if not endanger, some of the most helpful witnesses.”
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
