‘Not Allowed To COMMENT?’: Trump Responds To Jack Smith’s Gag Order Request
Harold Hutchison on September 15, 2023
Former President Donald Trump slammed special counsel Jack Smith Friday for trying to secure a gag order in a post on Truth Social.
Smith requested a “narrowly-tailored” order, claiming that Trump’s comments on social media and elsewhere about the case “are intended to undermine public confidence in an institution — the judicial system — and to undermine confidence in and intimidate individuals –the Court, the jury pool, witnesses, and prosecutors,” according to ABC News. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges during his Aug. 3 arraignment after Smith secured a four-count indictment of Trump relating to his efforts to contest the results of the 2020 election.
“Biden Prosecutor, Deranged Jack Smith, has asked the Court to limit 45th President, and leading Republican Nominee (by more than 50 points, & beating Dems!) DONALD J. TRUMP’S, PUBLIC STATEMENTS,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“So, I’m campaigning for President against an incompetent person who has WEAPONIZED the DOJ & FBI to go after his Political Opponent, & I am not allowed to COMMENT?” Trump asked. “They Leak, Lie, & Sue, & they won’t allow me to SPEAK? How else would I explain that Jack Smith is DERANGED, or Crooked Joe is INCOMPETENT?”
Legal experts noted that much of the conduct Smith claimed was criminal in the indictment appeared to be protected by the First Amendment. Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz said that the indictment not only attacked the First Amendment, but also Trump’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
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