Current:Home > NewsProsecutors in Trump classified documents case seek to bar him from making statements that "endangered law enforcement" -Pinnacle Profit Strategies
Prosecutors in Trump classified documents case seek to bar him from making statements that "endangered law enforcement"
View
Date:2025-04-12 12:58:38
Federal prosecutors on Friday asked the judge overseeing the classified documents case against Donald Trump to bar the former president from public statements that "pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents" participating in the prosecution.
The request to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon follows a false claim by Trump earlier this week that the FBI agents who searched his Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022 were "authorized to shoot me" and were "locked & loaded ready to take me out & put my family in danger."
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was referring to the disclosure in a court document that the FBI, during the search, followed a standard use-of-force policy that prohibits the use of deadly force except when the officer conducting the search has a reasonable belief that the "subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person."
The policy is routine and meant to limit the use of force during searches. Prosecutors noted that the search was intentionally conducted when Trump and his family were away and was coordinated with the Secret Service. No force was used.
Prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith's team said in court papers late Friday that Trump's statements falsely suggesting that federal agents "were complicit in a plot to assassinate him" expose law enforcement — some of whom prosecutors noted will be called as witnesses at his trial — "to the risk of threats, violence, and harassment."
"Trump's repeated mischaracterization of these facts in widely distributed messages as an attempt to kill him, his family, and Secret Service agents has endangered law enforcement officers involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case and threatened the integrity of these proceedings," prosecutors told Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump.
"A restriction prohibiting future similar statements does not restrict legitimate speech," they said.
Defense lawyers have objected to the government's motion, prosecutors said. An attorney for Trump didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment Friday night.
Attorney General Merrick Garland earlier this week slammed Trump's claim as "extremely dangerous." Garland noted that the document Trump was referring to is a standard policy limiting the use of force that was even used in the consensual search of President Joe Biden's home as part of an investigation into the Democrat's handling of classified documents.
Trump faces dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, classified documents that he took with him after he left the White House in 2021, and then obstructing the FBI's efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
It's one of four criminal cases Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House, but outside of the ongoing New York hush money prosecution, it's not clear that any of the other three will reach trial before the election.
- In:
- Classified Documents
- Donald Trump
- Mar-a-Lago
veryGood! (665)
Related
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Recovery high schools help kids heal from an addiction and build a future
- Man arrested after allegedly throwing phone at Bebe Rexha during concert
- This Week in Clean Economy: Renewables Industry, Advocates Weigh In on Obama Plan
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Miranda Lambert calls out fan T-shirt amid selfie controversy: 'Shoot tequila, not selfies'
- Biden Names Ocasio-Cortez, Kerry to Lead His Climate Task Force, Bridging Democrats’ Divide
- How to Get Rid of a Pimple Fast: 10 Holy Grail Solutions That Work in Hours
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Foo Fighters Reveal Their New Drummer One Year After Taylor Hawkins' Death
Ranking
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- One month after attack in congressman's office, House panel to consider more security spending
- Transcript: Former Attorney General William Barr on Face the Nation, June 18, 2023
- The future availability of abortion pills remains uncertain after conflicting rulings
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Biden Names Ocasio-Cortez, Kerry to Lead His Climate Task Force, Bridging Democrats’ Divide
- This Week in Clean Economy: Cost of Going Solar Is Dropping Fast, State Study Finds
- Get $148 J.Crew Jeans for $19, a $118 Dress for $28 and More Mind-Blowing Deals
Recommendation
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Video: Covid-19 Drives Earth Day Anniversary Online, Inspiring Creative New Tactics For Climate Activists
For the first time in 15 years, liberals win control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Dua Lipa and Boyfriend Romain Gavras Make Their Red Carpet Debut as a Couple at Cannes
Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
Hostage freed after years in Africa recounts ordeal and frustrations with U.S. response
These Are the Best Appliances From Amazon for Small Kitchens
Days of 100-Degree Heat Will Become Weeks as Climate Warms, U.S. Study Warns