Special Counsel Jack Smith requested a gag order on Friday to restrict former President Donald Trump from discussing the classified documents case. Specifically, Smith aims to prevent Trump from talking about the authorization given to FBI agents to use deadly force during the 2022 raid on his Mar-A-Lago estate.
In Friday’s court filings, Smith asked U.S. Judge Aileen Cannon to modify the conditions of Trump’s pre-trial release to “make clear that he may not make statements that pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents participating in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”
Smith accused Trump of making “false and inflammatory” statements about the FBI’s execution of the unprecedented 2022 raid. But the raid, personally approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland, authorized agents to use deadly force on Trump, his family, Mar-A-Lago guests, and even the former president’s Secret Service detail if deemed necessary, according to documents made public last week by investigative reporter Julie Kelly.
“Those statements create a grossly misleading impression about the intentions and conduct of federal law enforcement agents—falsely suggesting that they were complicit in a plot to assassinate him—and expose those agents, some of whom will be witnesses at trial, to the risk of threats, violence, and harassment,” Smith’s office wrote in the filing.
If approved, Trump would be prohibited from discussing the details of the Mar-A-Lago raid. The leading presidential candidate is currently under a gag order in the New York v. Trump case, which prevents him from discussing Judge Juan Merchan’s political connections that could compromise the case.
Trump has not accused any federal agencies or agencies of ‘plotting to assassinate’ him so that part of Smith’s filing is as false as he claims Trump is being.
“WOW! I just came out of the Biden Witch Hunt Trial in Manhattan, the ‘Icebox,’ and was shown Reports that Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their Illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE. NOW WE KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT JOE BIDEN IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY. HE IS MENTALLY UNFIT TO HOLD OFFICE — 25TH AMENDMENT,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after learning about the authorization.
The authorization was part of the operation to recover classified materials allegedly retained unlawfully by Trump after his presidency.
The documents indicate preparedness for potentially violent confrontations, including scenarios involving Trump’s security detail, which consists of former Secret Service personnel. This aspect of the plan suggests an expectation of resistance, although such resistance appears implausible. Kelly compared the measures taken to those of a totalitarian regime. “Armed FBI agents were preparing to confront Trump and even engage Secret Service if necessary,” Kelly tweeted.