Donald Trump has raged against a possible gag order as the former President’s legal issues continue to grow.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has requested a judge place Trump under a gag order in the federal election meddling case.
Trump is accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, in one of four criminal cases he faces this year.
While the counsel said the “narrowly tailored” order would prevent harassment of witnesses, the Republican 2024 frontrunner raged online and said: “They won’t allow me to SPEAK?”
On Truth Social, Trump wrote: “So, I’m campaigning for President against an incompetent person who has WEAPONIZED the DOJ & FBI to go after his Political Opponent, & I am not allowed to COMMENT?
“They Leak, Lie, & Sue, & they won’t allow me to SPEAK?”
Smith wrote in his filing that “the defendant has an established practice of issuing inflammatory public statements targeted at individuals or institutions that present an obstacle or challenge to him”.
The Government also added that Trump “made clear his intent to issue public attacks related to this case when, the day after his arraignment, he posted a threatening message on Truth Social.”
On August 4, Trump said: “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”
As a result, Smith and the Government said Trump “has made good on his threat,” and is spreading “disparaging and inflammatory public posts on Truth Social on a near-daily basis”.
Smith said the proposed order is “a narrow, well defined restriction” which is necessary to prevent Trump from spreading disinformation, threats and “prejudicing” the case.
The request was unsealed by District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan and was filed a week earlier.
It comes as Trump attempts to remove Judge Chutkan from the case over comments about the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots.
In December 2021 and October 2022, she told a defendant the incident came from “blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day”.
It also comes after an interview with Megyn Kelly that saw Trump rage about his classified documents case.
He said on the SiriusXM podcast: “I did nothing wrong. I’m allowed to have those documents.”
The former President repeatedly mentioned the Presidential Records Act as his protection in the case.
The act, passed in 1978, lays out the requirements for the maintenance, access, and preservation of information during and after a presidency.
Despite Trump’s legal woes, he remains the clear frontrunner for the GOP candidate in 2024, leading his closest rival Ron DeSantis by a massive 47 points.
A Fox News poll of 1,012 voters, carried out between September 9-12, showed Trump now winning 60 percent of support.
Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @ExpressUSNews
