WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith is asking the federal judge presiding over Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 case to stop the former president from making inflammatory statements that he said are endangering witnesses and will make finding a fair jury difficult.
“The defendant has repeatedly and widely disseminated public statements attacking the citizens of the District of Columbia, the court, prosecutors, and prospective witnesses,” Smith wrote in a Friday filing to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin. “The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets.”
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment.
Smith cited Trump’s Aug. 23 post on his social media platform after his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was charged in a separate Georgia case: “THE ELECTION WAS RIGED & STOLLEN. HOW SAD FOR OUR COUNTRY. MAGA!”
He also included in the filing an Aug. 5 post in which Trump attacked former Vice President Mike Pence, who refused to do as Trump demanded and declare him the winner of the 2020 election. “He’s delusional, and now he wants to show he’s a tough guy,” Trump wrote.
Smith provided several examples of witnesses whose names were blacked out in the filing and who have been targeted for harassment and threats by Trump supporters.
“The government seeks a narrow, well-defined restriction that is targeted at extrajudicial statements that present a serious and substantial danger of materially prejudicing this case,” Smith wrote.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.