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The recent attempt by Donald Trump's legal team to dismiss a request for a gag order has been decried as "a political screed" by legal analyst Harry Littman.
Special counsel Jack Smith has requested a limited gag order against the former president about the case surrounding his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which ultimately led to the January 6 Capital riot. The order, if granted, would bar Trump from making "inflammatory" or "intimidating" comments about anyone involved in the case, including attorneys and potential witnesses.
In response, Trump's legal team filed an argument against the requested order on Monday, saying that it was a direct attempt by the Biden administration to hinder Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
"Following these efforts to poison President Trump's defense, the prosecution now asks the Court to take the extraordinary step of stripping President Trump of his First Amendment freedoms during the most important months of his campaign against President Biden," Trump's legal team wrote in the filing. "The Court should reject this transparent gamesmanship and deny the motion entirely."
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Littman, an attorney and senior legal columnist for the Los Angeles Times, wrote that the filing from the Trump team would only continue to provoke Judge Tanya Chutkan.
"Trump's response to the gag order motion from DOJ is a political screed that says Smith's motion 'is an obvious attempt by the Biden Admin to unlawfully silence its most prominent political opponent,'" Littman wrote. "They continue to provoke, rather than try to persuade, Chutkan."
In a statement to Newsweek on the matter, Dave Aronberg, a state attorney for Florida's Palm Beach County, was similarly dismissive of the filing, saying that it could also be an attempt to inflame Trump's base of supporters further.
"Trump's rhetoric is provoking Judge Chutkan in the hope of a recusal or, in the alternative, to rally his base against a system that they believe is rigged against him," Aronberg said. "Nothing motivates MAGA more than grievance and martyrdom."
The election interference case is one of the four criminal indictments against Trump this year. His charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. Trump pleaded not guilty at his arraignment (as well as in the three other indictments) and has dismissed the investigation as an attempt to damage his reelection prospects.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more