WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department on Friday asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.
\nProsecutors asked US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a protective order in the case a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. The order \u2014 which is different from a so-called \u201cgag order\u201d \u2014 would limit what information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
\nSuch protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said it\u2019s \u201cparticularly important in this case\u201d because Trump has issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.\u201d
\nThey pointed specifically to a post on Trump\u2019s Truth Social platform from earlier Friday in which Trump wrote, in all capital letters, \u201cIf you go after me, I\u2019m coming after you.\u201d
\nProsecutors said they are ready to hand over a \u201csubstantial\u201d amount of evidence \u2014 \u201cmuch of which includes sensitive and confidential information\u201d \u2014 to Trump\u2019s legal team.
\nProsecutors told the judge that if Trump were to begin posting about grand jury transcripts or other evidence provided by the Justice Department, it could have have a \u201charmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case.\u201d
\nProsecutors\u2019 proposed protective order seeks to prevent Trump and his lawyers from disclosing materials provided by the government to anyone other than people on his legal team, possible witnesses, the witnesses\u2019 lawyers or others approved by the court. It would put stricter limits on \u201csensitive materials,\u201d which includes grand jury witness testimony and materials obtained through sealed search warrants.
\nThe indictment unsealed last week accuses Trump of brazenly conspiring with allies to spread falsehoods and concoct schemes intended to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden as his legal challenges floundered in court.
\nTrump faces charges including conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy to obstruct Congress\u2019 certification of President Joe Biden\u2019s electoral victory.
\nAfter his court appearance on Thursday, Trump characterized the case as a \u201cpersecution\u201d designed to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign, calling it a \u201cvery sad day for America.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s the third criminal case brought this year against the the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But it\u2019s the first case to try to hold Trump responsible for his efforts to remain in power during the chaotic weeks between his election loss and the attack by his supporters on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
\nSmith has said prosecutors will seek a \u201cspeedy trial\u201d against Trump in the election case and are expected to propose a trial date next week.
\nTrump is already scheduled to stand trial in March in the New York case stemming from hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign and in May in the federal case in Florida stemming from classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department on Friday asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him. Prosecutors asked US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a protective order […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-347334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n