‘PART OF A PATTERN’

Jack Smith Argues Trump’s ‘Prejudicial’ Comments Necessitate Gag Order

Smith argued in a filing that Trump’s penchant for attacking judges and prosecutors stretches back years.

Special counsel Jack Smith told a D.C. Court of Appeals that “prejudicial comments” made by former President Donald Trump make it necessary for the court to uphold a “narrowly tailored” gag order to safeguard future court proceedings, as well as the people involved in Trump’s D.C. criminal case, which relates to 2020 election interference. Smith argued in a filing that Trump’s recent behavior of attacking judges and prosecutors is “part of a pattern, stretching back years, in which people publicly targeted by the defendant are, as a result of the targeting, subject to harassment, threats, and intimidation,” adding that there is a “demonstrable likelihood” such comments will cause more threats. The filing harkened back to Trump’s role in inciting the Capitol insurrection, arguing that Trump’s past comments left him “responsible for the events of January 6, 2021,” and that continued disparagement of those involved in the case could beget future threats to their wellbeing.