On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s lawyers fought back against Jack Smith’s request for a narrow gag order related to his case surrounding the January 6 riots that occurred at the U.S. Capitol.
Smith, a former Proud Boys leader, has been charged with five counts in relation to the Capitol riots, including unlawful entry to restricted areas, violent entry, and obstruction of an official proceeding. He recently asked a judge to impose a limited gag order on himself to prevent either himself or the president’s defense from using the case to“increase hatred and distrust among Americans.”
Trump’s lawyers quickly argued against Smith’s gag order request, arguing that it would be a violation of the president’s First Amendment rights.
The lawyers wrote in the legal brief: “The court should deny the proposed gag order because it is an extraordinary remedy – one that improperly attempts to infringe on President Trump’s rights to comment, praise, defend, criticize, and urge on others in the defense of his own interests in the prosecution in this case.”
The lawyers also argued that a gag order would“impede the President’s ability to participate in public debates at a critical juncture in a criminal prosecution in which he has a keen interest in the outcome.”
Additionally, the lawyers argued that the gag order would be too broad in scope, potentially infringing on Trump’s rights to express his opinions and to defend himself in the case. They offered to instead limit the scope of the gag order to only certain transmissions, such as communications by Jack Smith or defendants directly involved in the case against him.
The legal brief concluded with the lawyers calling the gag order inappropriate, saying: “This is not a case in which the threat to the criminal justice process is so great or military secrets are at issue.”
The outcome of this legal battle between Trump’s lawyers and Jack Smith’s request for a narrow gag order is yet to be seen. It remains to be seen how the judge will rule in the case and whether or not Trump will be able to keep speaking out on the matter.