Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Saturday lashed out at Special Counsel Jack Smith for the partial gag order he sought against Donald Trump last Friday.
What Happened: “Jack Smith is interfering in the 2024 presidential election and violating President Trump’s first amendment free speech rights,” Greene said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Smith’s special counsel must be defunded, she added.
The Congresswoman was responding to a post by legal analyst Jonathan Turley regarding the legal development. Smith on late Friday filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to “gag Trump in referencing witnesses and attorneys in the case,” according to Turley.
“Consistent with its obligations to guard the integrity of these proceedings and prevent
prejudice to the jury pool, while respecting the defendant’s First Amendment rights, the Court
should enter the proposed orders imposing certain narrow restrictions on the parties’ public
statements regarding this case and governing any jury studies the parties may undertake,” Smith said in the filing.
Why It’s Important: Turley said the order would effectively bar Trump from discussing the case in the midst of a presidential campaign.
The order would prohibit Trump from making statements “regarding the identity, testimony, or credibility of prospective witnesses” and “statements about any party, witness, attorney, court personnel, or potential jurors that are disparaging and inflammatory, or intimidating,” Turley said, citing the filing.
The former criminal defense attorney said this would be especially difficult considering some of the witnesses and parties are political figures.
“Once again, I fail to see any good-faith effort of the Justice Department to recognize the unprecedented situation of prosecuting the leading candidate for the presidency in the middle of an election,” Turley said, adding, “Smith continues to show little sense of restraint.”
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Image and article originally from www.benzinga.com. Read the original article here.