Jack Smith’s plan to impose a gag order on Trump in his classified documents case backfired spectacularly.
Not only did Judge Aileen Cannon deny Jack Smith’s request to bar Trump from criticizing law enforcement after it was revealed Biden’s DOJ authorized the use of deadly force during the Mar-a-Lago raid, she threatened sanctions against his prosecutors if they continued to violate the rules.
Jack Smith late Friday night sought a gag order barring Trump from criticizing Biden’s rogue DOJ/FBI.
The names of the armed FBI agents involved in the Mar-a-Lago raid were redacted but Jack Smith tried to illegally gag Trump anyway.
“The Government moves to modify defendant Donald J. Trump’s conditions of release, to make clear that he may not make statements that pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents participating in the investigation and prosecution of this case.,” Jack Smith wrote in a motion filed Friday evening.
“The Government’s request is necessary because of several intentionally false and inflammatory statements recently made by Trump that distort the circumstances under which the Federal Bureau of Investigation planned and executed the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago,” Smith wrote.
On Tuesday Cannon responded to Jack Smith’s order and warned sanctions could be next if he kept violating the rules.
Jack Smith’s prosecutor Friday evening at 5:30 sent Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche an email informing him that the Special Counsel will be filing a motion to modify Trump’s conditions of release to bar him from making statements about law enforcement after it was revealed the DOJ had a deadly force policy in its Mar-a-Lago raid.
The last-minute email Jack Smith’s prosecutor sent Blanche violates the “Meet and Confer” requirement where lawyers try to resolve an issue before getting the judge involved.
“We assume you will oppose this motion and will want an opportunity to respond. Could you please confirm?” We plan to file the motion later this evening,” Jack Smith’s prosecutor Jay Bratt wrote Friday at 5:30 PM ET on Friday going into the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Jack Smith’s office violated a meet and confer requirement. In non legal speak, a M&C is where lawyers try to resolve issues over the phone before crying to the judge. It’s not optional.
Anyone else gets sanctioned.
Jack Smith must be disbarred. https://t.co/D2y5qpdGYU
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) May 28, 2024
Todd Blanche blasted Jay Bratt 10 minutes later.
“Jay, we very much object to a 5:30 pm email on Memorial Day weekend asking our position on a very serious motion that has First Amendment implications and addresses the conditions of release of President Trump,” Todd Blanche wrote.
Blanche warned Jay Bratt he was violating the ‘meet and confer’ rules.
“A 5:30 pm email on the Friday before Memorial Day is not meeting and conferring in any sense of the word, and certainly not as we have been ordered to do by Local Rule and Judge Cannon. As you know, the names of the law enforcement officers associated with this investigation and associated with the prosecution of this case have been redacted from all of the public filings. There cannot be a real imminent danger, as you are well-aware,” Todd Blanche wrote before offering to meet and confer on Monday afternoon.
Blanche, of course, is representing Pres Trump in NY case too–delivering closings today.
Blanche reminds Bratt that Judge Cannon already warned both sides about following the rules.
As I also noted, Cannon ordered redacting of officers’ names in all filings. pic.twitter.com/vII8LBwpX0
— Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) May 28, 2024
An hour later, Jay Bratt shot back a snotty email and claimed there was no point in meeting because it would be a “fruitless exercise and does nothing to mitigate the danger your client is creating.”
Now read this in your most powerhungry little man voice so it makes sense.
Bratt cites Trump opposition to gag order in NY and DC as reason not to bother conferring (Cannon also addressed this today)
I am actually surprised Cannon did not sanction Bratt for his willful brazen… pic.twitter.com/DHdJpcN7yF
— Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) May 28, 2024
Todd Blanche blasted Jack Smith’s prosecutor David Harbach for docketing the motion at 8 pm on Friday evening.
“There are rules. You guys violated them. I appreciate the attempted explanation, but it does not in any way pacify us,” Todd Blanche wrote.
This email from Todd Blanche (Trump) to David Harbach (special counsel) confirms the purpose of the rush job to post the gag order motion.
To dominate the weekend news cycle and diminish coverage of FBI use of lethal force policy for MAL raid.
Hence the 8pm docketing of Smith’s… pic.twitter.com/6IS9ImY7o8
— Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) May 28, 2024
Judge Cannon denied Jack Smith’s motion seeking a gag order and admonished his prosecutors.
“Any future, non-emergency motion brought in this case–whether on the topic of release conditions or anything else–shall not be filed absent meaningful, timely, and professional conferral,” Cannon wrote.
“Failure to comply with these requirements may result in sanctions,” Cannon wrote.
