Legal counsel for Trump bolstered his perspective, arguing that the limitations put forth by Smith would encroach upon his rights protected by the First Amendment….reports Asian Lite News
Former US President Donald Trump has challenged government attorneys’ attempt to limit his public disclosures about his ongoing prosecution for alleged involvement in overturning the 2020 election results.
“I shouldn’t have a protective order placed on me because it would impinge upon my right to FREE SPEECH,” asserted the former president via his Truth Social platform. “Deranged Jack Smith and the Department of Injustice should, however, because they are illegally ‘leaking’ all over the place!” he added in a reference to the special counsel who filed the case against him.
Legal representatives for Trump reinforced his viewpoint, contending that the restrictions proposed by Smith would infringe upon his First Amendment rights. Trump’s attorney, John Lauro, noted the irony in the government attempting to curtail First Amendment rights in a case centred on them.
Prosecutors have petitioned US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over the case, for a protective order following Trump’s “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” statement on Truth Social. This has sparked discussions about the boundary between free speech and legal constraints.
Trump had recently called for recusal of the judge in the 2020 election fraud case.
Trump took to Truth Social, on Sunday morning to express his displeasure with a federal indictment for attempting to overturn the 2020 election. He described the case as “the ridiculous freedom of speech, slash fair elections case” and said that his legal team would immediately be asking for recusal of the judge.
Trump has said that he will ask the judge to step aside on what he called “very powerful grounds”, the BBC reported.
He gave no details of his grounds for asking her to step down. The former President has said there is “no way” he can get a fair trial with the judge assigned to his case.
Federal judge Tanya Chutkan was appointed in 2014 by former President Barack Obama.
Judge Chutkan previously ruled against Trump’s efforts to shield evidence from the House January 6 Committee and has faced frequent attacks from Trump allies in recent days. Trump had described her and the Department of Justice (DOJ) as “highly partisan and very corrupt”, the BBC reported.
She is the only federal judge in Washington who has delivered sentences against defendants in cases related to the 6 January Capitol riot that are longer than the sentences that the DOJ asked for, according to NBC News.
According to DOJ, any judge of the US shall disqualify themselves in any proceeding in which their impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
