Special counsel Jack Smith is calling on the federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump‘s 2020 election subversion case to urgently install a gag order, flagging several social media incidents he believes warrant restrictions on the former president.
Smith said in a court filing on Friday to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that Trump should not be permitted to “obtain the benefits of his incendiary public states” and then “avoid accountability” through “feign[ed] retraction.” He was referring to Trump’s appearance at a gun store in South Carolina on Monday, during which he was videotaped holding a custom Glock.
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Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung posted a video to X, formerly Twitter, saying, “President Trump purchases a @Glock Inc. in South Carolina.” However, Cheung later deleted the post and said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that Trump “wanted to buy one” but did not confirm the purchase.
However, Smith believes the video caught Trump “potentially violating his conditions of release, and tried to walk that back in a similar fashion.” While under a federal indictment, Trump is allowed to possess existing firearms but may not receive new ones.
“The defendant either purchased a gun in violation of the law and his conditions of release, or seeks to benefit from his supporters’ mistaken belief that he did so,” Smith wrote.
Smith also stated that Trump’s attacks on Gen. Mark Milley, outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a prosecutor in Smith’s office, are evidence to support imposing a gag order.
“In sum, the Court may enter an order in this case restricting the parties’ extrajudicial statements if the statements present a ‘substantial likelihood of material prejudice’ as long as the Court’s order is narrowly tailored to the objections of preventing comments that are likely to influence the actual outcome of trial or are likely to prejudice the venire,” Smith said.
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Chutkan scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. on Oct. 16 to hear arguments on the gag order request. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024, the day before Super Tuesday, a fact that the defense says is a reason to dismiss the gag order, arguing it would censor a presidential candidate during the 2024 election.
Trump’s team has pushed back against Smith’s claims that Trump’s statements have intimidated potential witnesses and “it is absurd to suggest the prosecution and the Court are ‘intimidated’ by critical social media posts.” The former president is known for posting inflammatory remarks on social media, including calling out prosecutors and judges in his indictments for being politically motivated or “radical” liberals.
