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On
his Truth Social site, the former president wrote, "IF YOU GO
AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!" on Friday afternoon, a day
after he pleaded not guilty to charges that he orchestrated a
criminal conspiracy to try to reverse his 2020 election loss to
Democrat Joe Biden.
In the filing in Washington federal court, the office of Special
Counsel Jack Smith said Trump's post raised concerns that he
might publicly reveal secret material, such as grand jury
transcripts, obtained from prosecutors.
Under the process known as discovery, prosecutors are required
to provide defendants with the evidence against them so they can
prepare their defense.
"It could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or
adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this
case," prosecutors wrote, noting that Trump has a history of
attacking judges, attorneys and witnesses in other cases against
him.
At his arraignment on Thursday, Trump swore not to intimidate
witnesses or communicate with them without legal counsel
present.
The prosecutors' filing asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan
to issue a protective order prohibiting Trump and his lawyers
from sharing any discovery materials with unauthorized people.
Protective orders are routine in cases involving confidential
documents, but prosecutors said it was particularly important to
restrict public dissemination given Trump's social media
statements.
A Trump spokesperson issued a statement defending the former
president's social media post.
"The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, and
was in response to the Rino, China-loving, dishonest special
interest groups and super PAC's," the statement said.
Trump has also pleaded not guilty in two other criminal cases.
He faces federal charges in Miami for allegedly retaining
classified documents after leaving office and obstructing
justice, and state charges in Manhattan for allegedly falsifying
business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star.
He faces a possible fourth indictment in Georgia, where Atlanta
prosecutors have been investigating his efforts to overturn the
election results there.
Trump has portrayed all of the investigations as part of a
political witch hunt intended to stymie his 2024 campaign.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Adiitional reporting by Gursimran Kaur;
Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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