By Alanna Durkin Richer | Associated Press
Donald Trump’s legal team on Monday urged the judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against the former president to reject prosecutors’ proposed protective order concerning evidence in the case, saying it is overly broad and restrictive of his First Amendment rights.
Lawyers for the early 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner said the judge should impose a more limited protective order that would prevent the public disclosure of only materials deemed “sensitive” — such as grand jury documents — rather than all evidence handed over by the government in the case accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump’s lawyers, who have characterized the case as an attack on his right to free speech, told the judge that the need to protect sensitive information about the case “does not require a blanket gag order over all documents produced by the government.”
“In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “Worse, it does so against its administration’s primary political opponent, during an election season in which the administration, prominent party members, and media allies have campaigned on the indictment and proliferated its false allegations.”
The defense filing was in response to a request Friday from special counsel Jack Smith’s team for a protective order, which would impose rules on what Trump and his defense team can do with evidence handed over by the government as they prepare for trial in the case unsealed last week.
Prosecutors’ proposed protective order seeks to prevent Trump and his lawyers from disclosing materials provided by the government to anyone other than people on his legal team, possible witnesses, the witnesses’ lawyers or others approved by the court. It would put stricter limits on “sensitive materials,” which would include grand jury…
Read the full article here