🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Former President Donald Trump's legal team filed a response to the Justice Department's protective order on Monday, claiming that the request from federal prosecutors would be an infringement on Trump's First Amendment rights.
Federal prosecutors filed the order on Friday to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case against Trump that stems from the DOJ's investigation into the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The former president pleaded not guilty last week to all four charges attached to the case, which allege that Trump attempted to remain in power even after losing in the 2020 presidential election.
The protective order, which concerns the evidence involved in the case against Trump, follows a post from the former president last week stating, "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"
Trump's defense team had until Monday at 5 p.m. to respond to the DOJ's order. The 29-page filing can be read in its entirety below:
According to the filing, Trump's lawyers argue that granting the protective order would go against the former president's First Amendment rights and interfere with his reelection campaign. Prosecutors had asked that the judge issue the order to limit the information Trump is allowed to share about the January 6 case.
Special Counsel Jack Smith specifically pointed to Trump's Truth Social post in the protective order request last week, claiming that the former president may intimidate witnesses involved in the case by disclosing confidential evidence provided by the DOJ.
"In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights," read Trump's response Monday. "Worse, it does so against its administration's primary political opponent, during an election season in which the administration, prominent party members, and media allies have campaigned on the indictment and proliferated its false allegations."
Trump's legal team also argues that the proposal is "overbroad" and asks that Chutkan instead adopt revised protective order that only prohibits "sensitive materials" from being shared with the public.
"The government requests the Court assume the role of censor and impose content-based regulations on President Trump's political speech that would forbid him from publicly discussing or disclosing all non-public documents produced by the government, including both purportedly sensitive material and non sensitive potentially exculpatory documents," read the filing.
Newsweek reached out to the DOJ's Office of Public Affairs for comment Monday evening.
During his arraignment hearing last week, Trump agreed to not intimidate witnesses without a person from his legal team present. The DOJ is asking for a protective order before providing Trump's defense team with a discovery of the evidence being used against him in the case, which will likely include information regarding witnesses who spoke with the FBI.
In his proposal, Smith said that the Justice Department is prepared to give Trump a "substantial amount" of evidence once a protective order is filed.
A spokesperson for Trump's campaign also stated early Saturday morning that Trump's post, which was described as a "chilling" threat, was not in response to the DOJ's case.
"The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, and was in response to the RINO, China-loving, dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs, like the ones funded by the Koch brothers and the Club for No Growth," the statement read.
About the writer
Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more