Trump's Lawyers Blast Jack Smith's Gag Order Request In Classified Documents Case

Lawyers for Donald Trump on Monday blasted a motion filed by prosecutors in the classified documents case, calling on the judge to impose a gag order on the former president over false allegations he made about the 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Trump mischaracterized standard language included in search warrants to baselessly assert FBI agents were prepared to shoot him when they searched his Florida property in the summer of 2022 for classified files he took with him after the conclusion of his presidential term.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s office in a motion filed Friday asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to impose a gag order on Trump, saying his mischaracterization of facts “has endangered law enforcement officers involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”

In a court filing, his lawyers Todd Blanche and Christopher Kise blasted Smith, calling on Cannon to not only reject the prosecution’s motion but to also impose sanctions and find all government attorneys who participated in filing the motion in civil contempt.

Blanche and Kise argued Smith’s request represents an “extraordinary, unprecedented, and unconstitutional censorship application,” claiming the motion targets Trump’s campaign speech as he is a major candidate in the upcoming 2024 race.

Trump’s lawyers also took issue with the timing the motion was filed on Friday evening ahead of Memorial Day and while the former president’s legal team is preparing to deliver closing arguments Tuesday in his hush money trial in New York.

“This is bad-faith behavior, plain and simple,” they said.

Besides, they argued that Smith has failed to substantiate the argument that Trump’s comments posed an immediate danger to law enforcement personnel