On Friday, a federal judge delivered an epic smackdown against Special Counsel Jack Smith and his request for a protective order against former President Donald Trump that would have placed some speech restrictions on him as he continues to run his 2024 presidential election. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a super anti-Trump individual who is actively working to destroy him and those who support his candidacy, get handed a big “L.” It goes down smooth like a fresh pint of Guinness.
According to Just the News writer Charlotte Hazard, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a ruling that said prosecutors did not provide enough evidence to meet the burden for an approved protected order. However, Chutkan did warn the former president that he would need to be very careful about what he says concerning the cases he is currently involved with.
“Mr. Trump, like any American, has a right to free speech,” Chutkan responded. “But that right is not absolute.”
The protective order was requested this time last week after Trump took to Truth Social and posted, “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”
The former president’s campaign explained that the message was meant for political interest groups and was not aimed at any witnesses involved in the case.
Here’s more from CBS News:
But Chutkan sided with prosecutors on several details related to the order, including a request that all recordings, transcripts and reports of witness testimony should be considered “sensitive” information that must be shielded from public view. Chutkan accepted prosecutors’ request that Trump’s lawyers review any notes he takes about sensitive material to ensure they don’t include personal identifiable information. She also denied a request from Trump’s team to broaden the number of people who could have access to the discovery material.
Prosecutors said the first batch of discovery material it will share with Trump’s team includes roughly 11.6 million pages. The government expects to finish gathering all the material by Aug. 28, when a status conference is scheduled in the case.
The protective order emerged as an early point of contention between Smith and Trump’s team, and the two sides gathered for a hearing before Chutkan to argue their respective positions. It was their first meeting since Trump pleaded not guilty to four federal chargeslast week. The former president did not attend.
What the left is really afraid of is Trump using these cases brought against him as proof he’s being politically persecuted, which would ultimately lead to a strengthening of his voter base and a bringing over of many individuals who are on the fence about who to support for president next year. Anything that could potentially give him the edge in 2024 is something the left actively wants to avoid.
After all, Biden has given Trump a nearly endless supply of gaffes and missteps — figuratively and literally — to draw from during his presidential campaign. The last thing they want is for Trump to end up becoming some sort of proverbial martyr. Doing so would all but guarantee Biden has zero chance of reelection.
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