Trump Legal Team Pushes Back Against Gag Order

Special Counsel Jack Smith is about to drop Donald Trump’s October surprise against him, but Trump’s legal team is pushing back hard.

Smith is about ready to file what is being described as an “oversized motion” of roughly 180 pages for their opening brief of the superseding indictment against Donald Trump.

Trump’s legal team is asking for that to be blocked because Trump cannot publicly respond due to the gag order placed on him in the case.

Not Fair

On Saturday, a filing by prosecutors stated that the upcoming brief would contain “a detailed factual proffer” and “extensive footnote citations to an exhibit appendix.” They argued such a “comprehensive brief” exceeding the typical 45-page limit would be of “great assistance to the Court in creating a robust record.”

Trump’s attorneys countered, “False, public allegations by the Special Counsel’s Office, presented through a document that has no basis in the traditional criminal justice process, will undoubtedly enter the dialogue around the election.

“The Gag Order prevents President Trump from explaining in detail why the Office’s selective and biased account is inaccurate without risking contempt penalties.

“The Office cannot be permitted to issue a massive and misleading public statement that is not responsive to a defense motion, and risks adverse impacts to the integrity of these proceedings, while simultaneously insisting on an unconstitutional prior restraint on President Trump’s ability to respond to their inaccurate assertions while he is campaigning.”

Trump’s attorneys also cited the Justice manual, which restricts actions by federal prosecutors “for the purpose of affecting any election.”

They added, “Departures from these practices should never be countenanced because they risk allowing prosecutors to impact national elections, but the situation is even worse here where the Special Counsel’s Office is seeking to do so by turning criminal procedure on its head in order to file a 180-page false hit piece.”

I will go out on a limb and say that Judge Chutkan will overrule the motion, saying that the charges were not filed within the 60-day cutoff window and that this is merely a continuation of an existing case.

She has made it quite clear that she does not care that Trump is in an election and that his election schedule will not impact this case.

This will be Trump’s October surprise, so his campaign better be able to handle it because you know Harris will use it to attack Trump as we head down the final stretch.