CNN
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Attorneys for the Office of Special Counsel have asked a federal judge in Florida to order the gag. Donald Trump That would limit his ability to comment on law enforcement who searched his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Request – First A case of mishandling of classified documents — comes after the former president repeatedly and falsely criticized the FBI for having a policy around the use of deadly force. Search and seizure of government records at his resort in August 2022.
Although Trump has told supporters he may have been at risk because of the policy, the policy is standard protocol for FBI searches and limits how agents can use force in search operations. The same standard FBI policy was used in a separate classified documents investigation into the homes and offices of President Joe Biden.
Attorneys for special counsel Jack Smith wrote in a filing Friday night to Judge Eileen Cannon that the conditions allowing Trump to stay out of jail awaiting trial must be renewed.
Prosecutors say the gag order is needed to protect the integrity of the criminal prosecution and related law enforcement officials. They wrote that his inflammatory statements would cause his supporters Retaliation against federal officialsSome of them may be witnesses in the case.
“Trump’s repeated misrepresentations of an attempt to kill him, his family and Secret Service agents put law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case at risk and threaten the integrity of these proceedings,” the lawyers wrote.
His recent comments “invite the threats and harassment that have occurred when other participants in legal proceedings against Trump have been targeted by his incitement,” they added.
CNN has reached out to Trump’s lawyers for comment.
Prosecutors say Trump’s attorneys told them against the ban on their ability to comment on law enforcement who worked on the investigation, and they objected to the special counsel’s office responding to Trump’s comments in court late Friday, the Memorial Day weekend.
“They do not believe there is any immediate danger and have asked to meet next Monday,” prosecutors said in the filing.
Prosecutors noted that Trump was ramping up allegations about the FBI on his Truth social account on Friday.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday addressed Trump’s claims about the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. “The allegation is false and very dangerous. The document referred to in the indictment is a standing policy of the judiciary that restricts the use of force,” Garland said.
“As the FBI advises, this is part of a standard operating plan for searches,” Garland said. “In fact, it was even used in a consensual search of President Biden’s home.”
The use of the deadly force policy was included in several pages of paperwork governing FBI search protocol and policies made public this week in Trump’s case in federal court when he visited Mar-a-Lago. The documents also state that the agents will wear unmarked, business casual clothing, and that if Trump arrives at Mar-a-Lago during the search, on-site leadership will speak to him and his Secret Service detail.
Courts outside Florida have upheld gag orders barring witnesses, potential jurors and staffers from speaking about his cases because of threats and harassment his comments prompted, among other reasons.
Trump’s ability to comment publicly on the ongoing New York investigation, where he has been held in contempt and fined 10 times, is still limited. In federal court.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
