In his federal indictment for alleged attempts to rig the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump reacted angrily to the special counsel’s request for a gag order barring him from criticising prosecutors, witnesses, and the judge.
I’m running for President against a moron who has armed the FBI and DOJ to pursue his political rival, and I’m not allowed to comment? Trump posted on Truth Social not long after Friday’s plea became public. “How else would I explain that Jack Smith is DERANGED, or that Crooked Joe is INCOMPETENT?”
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan unsealed a court finding on Friday afternoon that made it known that special counsel Jack Smith had requested the order, which he claims the court must approve due to Trump’s persistent verbal attacks undermining the case’s objectivity.
Trump, who has long used social media to criticise his political rivals, also wields significant power over his supporters, some of whom have harassed individuals who the former president has criticised on social media — examples Smith used in his papers to support the gag order.
The former president, who is still the front-runner to get the Republican presidential nominee in 2024, has stated time and time again that all of his indictments are unfair and that he will not be given a fair trial in Washington, D.C.
Later on Friday, while addressing the Concerned Women for America meeting in Washington, D.C., Trump again attacked Smith, claiming that “they want to take away my freedom” and First Amendment rights.