The federal judge overseeing the classified documents case of Donald Trump is set to hear arguments from both parties on Monday after prosecutors have put forward once again their case for a new gag order on the former president to protect the lives of FBI agents involved in the case.
Special counsel Jack Smith's team has called for a gag order in response to Trump's claims that the FBI agents who searched his Mar-a-Lago estate, FL, in August 2022 intended to harm him and his family, according to Associated Press.
Trump's claims, which the prosecution argues are false, have been cited as potentially endangering law enforcement officers. Trump's lawyers, however, claim that such a gag order would unfairly silence him during his presidential campaign.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Trump and closely scrutinized for her handling of the case, has not indicated when she might rule on the gag order request. The Monday's session is part of a three-day hearing addressing various legal issues that have delayed the trial, initially set for last month but now indefinitely postponed.
Trump faces numerous felony charges related to the illegal retention of top-secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructing the FBI's efforts to retrieve them.
The prosecution's request for a gag order followed Trump's claim that the FBI was "locked & loaded" during the Mar-a-Lago search.
He referenced standard FBI policy language about the use of deadly force, claiming in a fundraising email that the FBI intended to kill him and endanger his family.
Prosecutors argue that such statements heighten the risk of violence against law enforcement, pointing to past incidents.
"Shortly after the execution of the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, one of Trump's supporters carried out an armed attack on an FBI office in the wake of Trump's Truth Social statements regarding the search," prosecutors wrote.
"And just last week, a supporter of Trump called an FBI agent associated with the Hunter Biden case and claimed that, if Trump wins reelection, FBI agents will be thrown in jail; and if he does not win, the agents will be 'hunt[ed] down' and 'slaughter[ed]' In their own homes, after which '[w]e're going to slaughter your whole f****** family'."
Trump's legal team argues that the prosecution has not demonstrated that his comments have directly endangered any FBI agents. They claim that Trump's criticism of the Mar-a-Lago raid is protected under his constitutional rights as part of his campaign speech.
