New York [US], August 7:A Washington federal court judge blocked former US president Donald Trump from going public with potential trial evidence shared with his lawyers in an upcoming election fraud case after prosecutors cited his history of social media tirades.
The ruling from District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan followed a Friday four-page filing from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith asking for a strict order to muzzle Trump from sharing information culled from discovery documents or evidence.
"If the defendant were to begin issuing public posts using details - or, for example, grand jury transcripts - obtained in discovery here, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case," wrote Smith.
On Friday, Trump made this all-caps posting on Truth Social: "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!" Earlier in the week, he mentioned the prosecutor by name in another posting: "I hear that deranged Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the presidential election of 2024, will be putting out yet another fake indictment of your favourite president."
The court papers also cited previous Trump social media outbursts "regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him." The defendant pleaded innocent Thursday in the alleged sweeping plot to overturn the 2020 election results and block the peaceful White House transition of President Joe Biden in 2021.
Source: Qatar Tribune