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Trump argues election case order violates free speech

The court says Donald Trump's speech inciting the crowd was not protected by the First Amendment.

The court says Donald Trump's speech inciting the crowd was not protected by the First Amendment. Photo: Getty

Donald Trump’s lawyers have urged a federal judge to only restrict “genuinely sensitive materials” in the former president’s 2020 election case from being released to the public ahead of trial.

“In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights,” Trump’s lawyers said in court papers filed on Monday, referring to the right of free speech guaranteed by the US Constitution.

Prosecutors on Friday had asked US District Judge Tanya Chutkan for a protective order limiting how evidence from the trial may be handled. That filing pointed to a post from Trump on his Truth Social site that said, “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”

US Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office said the post could suggest that Trump, frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, might intimidate witnesses by improperly disclosing confidential evidence received from prosecutors.

Protective orders are typically issued in criminal cases.

Monday’s court filing from Mr Trump’s lawyers did not directly address the claims of potential witness intimidation by their client.

Mr Trump on Thursday pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he orchestrated a plot to try to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden. It was the third criminal case brought against Mr Trump so far this year.

Mr Trump at his arraignment on Thursday swore to not intimidate witnesses or communicate with them about the case without legal counsel present.

Under a process known as discovery, prosecutors must provide defendants with the evidence against them so they can prepare a defense. Prosecutors in their Friday filing said they are prepared to provide Mr Trump with a “substantial amount” of evidence once a protective order is issued.

Judge Chutkan has said she may hold a hearing on the matter.

A Mr Trump spokesperson on Saturday denied that the Friday post was related to the trial, saying instead that Trump was attacking people dubbed “Republicans in Name Only” or RINOs.

But Mr Trump’s social media posts attacking both the case and Judge Chutkan have escalated since prosecutors’ Friday court filing. He has said he will seek Judge Chutkan’s recusal in the case, although his lawyers have yet to officially make such a request.

Judge Chutkan has previously ruled against Mr Trump in a civil lawsuit seeking to block White House records from a congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.

She also has strongly spoken out against the Capitol attack in criminal cases stemming from the riots. Prior court rulings are not enough to require a federal judge to step aside from a case.

Mr Trump lawyer John Lauro has said he will seek to transfer the 2020 election case from Washington, DC, to West Virginia. While criminal cases are sometimes tried in different locations than where they are brought in order to sit an impartial jury, others charged in the Capitol siege have failed in trying to have their criminal cases transferred out of the Washington federal trial court.

– AAP

Topics: Donald Trump
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