DOJ Notifies Judge About Trump Social Media Post
Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys are fighting back against federal prosecutors who allege the now-former president issued a social media post that referenced people involved in his criminal case.
On Friday, prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to order Trump to keep any evidence shared with his team from public view, citing a post Trump made to his Truth Social account that said, "If you go after me, I’m coming after you!”
Team Trump responded Saturday with a statement, saying the post was not in reference to anyone involved in his criminal case.
“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 PACs, like the ones funded by the Koch brothers and the Club for No Growth,” the statement said.
The team went on to criticize Special Counsel Jack Smith for “misrepresenting the content” of the post and said Smith “is continuing his unabated pursuit of President Trump through the criminal justice system since his inauguration in 2021.”
The prosecutors argued that the post raised concerns that Trump might release evidence from his case on social media. So far, Smith has not sought a gag order against Trump in either the January 6 case or the classified documents case.
The indictment is the third criminal case brought against Trump in the past year. In June, he pleaded not guilty to charges in connection to his handling of classified documents. In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from his alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
At his arraignment earlier this week, Trump’s attorney Alina Habba accused the Department of Justice of targeting her client and called the prosecution of Trump “election interference at its finest against the leading candidate, right now, for president of either party.”
Tasked with defending the 45th president, Trump’s attorneys are determined to use every legal avenue to keep evidence relating to his case from becoming public. Meanwhile, some political experts speculate that Smith’s team, led by prosecutor Seth Ginsberg, will use the social media post to their advantage as the case unfolds.
It's clear that the former president is determined to protect himself to the fullest extent of the law, but it remains to be seen whether his legal team can keep sensitive information away from the public eye.