(USNewsMag.com) – In an attempt to limit what former President Donald Trump can say about the federal case against him, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a request to have a gag order issued by U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.
Smith’s motion filed Sept. 15 makes reference to a quote from Fox News show host Jesse Watters that Trump posted on Truth Social on Aug. 2. The quote states that the Department of Justice is not independent and that the charges are “being directed by the Commander-in-Chief.” In the motion, Smith called the post an attempt to make “false and inflammatory claims to the public and jury pool.” The motion claims to be seeking what is said to be a “modest” gag order.
However, according to some, the request would have far-reaching impacts on what Trump would be allowed to say about President Joe Biden and the Department of Justice. The proposed gag order would mean everyone except Trump would be free to talk about the case.
On Twitter, Daily Wire writer and former Tucker Carlson Tonight head writer Gregg Re called the request “insane.” He wrote that under the proposed gag order, Trump would be barred from “even suggesting Biden is behind his prosecution.
On Sept. 19, Washington Post columnist Jason Willick also criticized the gag order for being too broad. Willick stated that Smith’s gag order would not only apply to “potential witnesses” but would also apply to “any party” in the case, which he said includes Biden as well as the Department of Justice.
Willick also argued that Smith is attempting to block Trump from “tying Biden to this prosecution during an election,” adding that a gag order such as the one requested is “unprecedented for a presidential candidate.”
If the gag order is granted, this would be the first time “a limit on the freedom of an opposing candidate” has been imposed by “the incumbent administration,” Greg Craig, former Obama White House counsel, wrote.
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