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In a motion seeking to modify Trump's conditions of release,
Special Counsel Jack Smith said the request was necessary
because of "several intentionally false and inflammatory
statements recently made by Trump that distort the circumstances
under which the Federal Bureau of Investigation planned and
executed the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago."
In the filing to Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen
Cannon in Florida, Smith described the comments as "grossly
misleading" and said law enforcement agents who participated in
a search of Trump's estate in August 2022 did so in an
"appropriate and professional manner."
Trump, the Republican challenger to President Joe Biden, a
Democrat, in the Nov. 5 election, has falsely claimed in
fundraising messages sent by his campaign this week that the FBI
was authorized to attempt an assassination.
"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," Smith wrote,
adding that restriction of future similar statement does not
restrict legitimate speech.
The FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort to retrieve
classified material that he retained after leaving office.
Agents found a slew of records that led to charges on 40 counts
of illegally retaining sensitive national security documents
after leaving office.
It is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faces. He has
pleaded not guilty to all the charges, saying the prosecutions
are part a politically motivated "witch hunt" to prevent him
from regaining the White House.
Before the Mar-a-Lago search, the FBI drafted a policy
statement, made public this week, that authorized law
enforcement to use deadly force only if an officer or another
person was under immediate threat. Trump was not present when
the search took place.
Merrick Garland, who oversees the FBI as attorney general, said
such policies are routine and were also in effect during
consensual searches of Biden’s homes conducted by the FBI in a
separate classified documents investigation.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by William Mallard)
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