Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys opposed special counsel Jack Smith’s proposal for a protective order in the case related to the 2020 election, according to a court document filed Monday.
Trump’s attorneys argued Smith’s protective order, which prosecutors typically use to dictate how discovery is handled in a case, was “overbroad” and accused the Department of Justice of seeking to “restrict First Amendment rights” with it.
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Protecting certain discovery “does not require a blanket gag order over all documents produced by the government,” Trump’s defense team wrote.
His lawyers added, “Rather, the Court can, and should, limit its protective order to genuinely sensitive materials — a less restrictive alternative that would satisfy any government interest in confidentiality while preserving the First Amendment rights of President Trump and the public.”
Trump is facing four felony charges related to allegations he conspired to overturn the 2020 election. The former president pleaded not guilty to all four charges last week, and now he and Smith are stuck in a back-and-forth over provisions of the protective order, which must be settled before Trump can receive discovery in the case.
Smith’s prosecutors argued in a court filing Friday night that a vague threat Trump had posted that day on his platform Truth Social — “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” — demonstrated Trump may share information they deemed sensitive to the public.
That “could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case,” they wrote.
Trump’s attorneys also took issue with Smith’s request that discovery materials be made to certain people on his defense team, such as his lawyers. Trump may, however, want to enlist “volunteer attorneys or others without paid employment arrangements to assist with the preparation of this case,” his attorneys wrote.
In their response to Smith’s order, they also included a social media post of President Joe Biden holding a “dark Brandon” mug with a 2024 logo hours before Trump, the top Republican 2024 candidate, was arraigned in Washington, D.C., last week.
After Jack Smith cited Trump’s post in a motion for the protective order last week, Trump’s motion calling the protective order “overly broad” cited Biden’s dark brandon reference, saying POTUS has “likewise capitalized on the indictment” thru “thinly veiled reference.” pic.twitter.com/t8AsPzBvSu
— Kaelan Deese (@KaelanDC) August 7, 2023
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While the Biden administration, high-profile Democrats, and others have “campaigned on the indictment,” Biden has “likewise capitalized on the indictment,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
They noted how Smith’s proposed protective order would not only limit Trump’s speech in their view, but also limit the speech of Biden’s top opponent in the election.
