Donald Trump’s lawyer says limiting his disclosure of evidence in the case violates his free speech rights, as U.S. prosecutors push for an earlier trial.
Lawyers for former president Donald Trump on Monday urged a judge to reject prosecutors’ demand that he agree to keep evidence the government turns over in his criminal election interference case secret until trial, saying that a rush to decide the issue was “inconsistent with his due process rights.”
The filing was a response to special counsel Jack Smith’s request Friday for a protective order, citing in part Trump’s history of posting on social media about “witnesses, judges, attorneys and others” associated with cases against him, including one that day that said, “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” Prosecutors said they sought the order so they could immediately turn over evidence in the case.
But Trump’s defense ream complained the government’s proposed limits were too broad, claiming they would infringe on the First Amendment rights of President Biden’s “primary political opponent.”
“The government requests the Court assume the role of censor and impose content-based regulations on President Trump’s political speech that would forbid him from publicly discussing or disclosing all non-public documents produced by the government, including both purportedly sensitive materials,” attorneys Todd Blanche and John Lauro wrote in a 13-page motion. They proposed a more limited order covering only sensitive items.
The skirmish over the typically routine matter of a protective order is an early sign of how vigorously both sides will argue over how quickly the case should head toward trial. Prosecutors have indicated they want to try Trump as soon as possible, while Trump’s team is likely to push for delays at every step.
Looming over the fight is the 2024 presidential election calendar, the assumption that the Justice Department would prefer to see a trial wrapped up before the GOP presidential nomination convention next summer, and Trump’s stated desire to postpone trial in a separate special counsel prosecution in Florida until after the November, 2024, election.
Legal analysts say the race to trial — both in the election interference case and in a second special counsel prosecution of Trump related to classified documents — is key to understanding how each side maneuvers. That began with Smith’s decision to seek a first wave of charges against Trump alone last Tuesday, on charges of conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct Congress’s confirmation of the vote and deprive Americans of the rights to have their votes counted.
