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U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon rejected Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request for a gag order against former President Donald Trump.
Trump recently revealed that the DOJ permitted the FBI to use lethal force during a raid at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. In response, Smith suggests Trump is endangering FBI agents and demanded a gag order.
However, Smith did not discuss the motion with Trump’s legal team beforehand, which caused major concerns.
Trump’s lawyers have asked Judge Cannon to sanction against Smith and his team for this lack of communication.
As a result, Judge Cannon cautioned Smith. “It should go without saying that meaningful conferral is not a perfunctory exercise,” Cannon responded. “Sufficient time needs to be afforded to permit reasonable evaluation of the requested relief by opposing counsel and to allow for adequate follow-up discussion as necessary about the specific factual and legal basis underlying the motion.”
Cannon continued, “Any future, non-emergency motion brought in this case—whether on the topic of release conditions or anything else—shall not be filed absent meaningful, timely, and professional conferral. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in sanctions.”
“The Court should strike the Motion, make civil contempt findings as to all government attorneys who participated in the decision to file the Motion without meaningful conferral, and impose sanctions after holding an evidentiary hearing regarding the purpose and intent behind the Office’s decision to willfully disregard required procedures,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
“There was no basis for rushing to file the Motion on Friday night. This is bad-faith behavior, plain and simple. The misconduct by the Special Counsel’s Office is even more worthy of sanctions in light of the context.”
Trump faces 37 indictments, primarily for allegedly retaining national defense information unlawfully after leaving the White House in 2021.
The charges include obstruction of government retrieval efforts. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all allegations.
Special Counsel Smith motioned to modify Trump’s bail terms to prevent him from making claims that purportedly endangered FBI agents.