In the wake of a recent submission regarding former President Donald Trump’s legal defense in the 2020 presidential election interference matter, special counsel Jack Smith responded to Trump’s request to pause the gag order established by Judge Tanya Chutkan.
Smith’s team stated, “Despite the defendant’s efforts to maintain his right to target trial participants, he has not demonstrated a significant chance of winning the appeal or shown that the public would benefit from delaying the order.
Given the defendant’s recent attempts on social media to influence and intimidate a known witness, the Court should reconsider and modify the current conditions of his release to halt such prejudicial behavior.” According to a report by Raw Story on Thursday, October 26, 2023,
The documentation cited instances of Trump allegedly pressuring witnesses, including a post on his Truth Social platform where he appeared to urge his former Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, not to cooperate with the investigation. This message came in response to reports that Meadows might have testified in exchange for immunity.
This is not the only instance where Trump has been reprimanded for violating court orders. Recently, during a civil fraud trial in New York, Judge Arthur Engoron imposed a $10,000 fine on Trump.
The penalty was for breaching the court’s order against denigrating court personnel. Trump’s defense that his comments were aimed at his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, and not the court staff was dismissed.