Headline Roundup • August 8th, 2023
Trump Lawyers Fight Proposed Protective Order
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have submitted a court filing to oppose a proposed protective order that they say would limit Trump's First Amendment rights.
Key Details: On Friday, Special Counsel Jack Smith asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a protective order that would limit Trump's ability to share evidence related to an upcoming trial. Smith is claiming that the Trump team is attempting to "try the case in the media rather than in the courtroom."
Key Quote: “In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights,” Trump’s lawyers write in the filing. “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.”
For Context: Last week, Trump was indicted on four counts by a grand jury convened by Smith over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
How the Media Covered it: Sources on the right noted that Trump's attorneys are claiming that Smith is trying to silence President Biden's top political opponent. Sources on the left noted that prosecutors are suggesting Trump's "bombastic use of social media" is a concern.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Tasos Katopodis, Kevin Wurm/Reuters
In a court filing on Monday, attorneys for Donald Trump requested changes be made to a proposed protective order in the federal case concerning the former president’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump’s attorney argue that special counsel Jack Smith is trying to silence President Biden’s top political opponent ahead of the 2024 election.
“In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights,” Trump’s lawyers write in the filing. “Worse, it does so against its administration’s primary political opponent, during an election...
DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
Special Counsel Jack Smith is asking the court to dismiss former President Donald Trump's protective order counterproposal that would broaden access to evidence, saying that the initial order sought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) was "standard" and "reasonable."
The DOJ filed a request last week to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing Trump's 2020 election case, to place a protective order concerning which pieces of evidence the former president is allowed to discuss publicly. Trump pleaded not guilty during his arraignment hearing last week to all four criminal counts stemming from the...
Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys asked a federal judge to reject a proposed protective order in the government’s election conspiracy case, claiming the effort to limit any public release of evidence would restrict his First Amendment rights.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team first asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday to issue a protective order related to any evidence shared with Trump’s team as lawyers prepare for trial. Though requesting such orders is not unusual, prosecutors suggested Trump’s bombastic use of social media could be a concern as the case moves forward.
...
