On Friday, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a request for a gag order against former president Donald Trump. While Smith claimed that the filing was for “a narrowly tailored order that imposes modest, permissible restrictions,” an examination of the text reveals that it is anything but.
Smith describes the supposed danger coming from Trump’s “recent extrajudicial statements,” which “are intended to undermine public confidence in an institution — the judicial system — and to undermine confidence in and intimidate individuals — the Court, the jury pool, witnesses and prosecutors.”
Apparently “undermin[ing] public confidence in … the judicial system” cannot be tolerated in the supposedly democratic United States.
The order would prohibit comments from Trump “regarding the identity, testimony, or credibility of prospective witnesses” and “statements about any party, witness, attorney, court personnel, or potential jurors that are disparaging and inflammatory, or intimidating.”
