Attorneys for Donald Trump argued in a June 21 hearing that special counsel Jack Smith was illegally appointed and therefore the classified documents case against the former president should be dismissed.
The latest motion to dismiss the classified documents case is one of several the defense has raised in the past year since the special counsel’s office indicted Trump for mishandling classified documents taken from the White House when he left office.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon heard arguments on June 21 from both the defense and prosecution, with defense attorney Emil Bove accusing the Department of Justice of creating a “shadow government” when it appointed special counsels to investigate and prosecute specific criminal cases.
Prosecutors with the special counsel’s office argued that Smith’s appointment was neither improper nor unusual.
Prosecutor James Pearce told the judge that the special counsel’s office had “complied with all of the department’s policies.”
The hearing on the latest round of pre-trial motions continued on Monday with Judge Cannon hearing arguments on the prosecution’s request to bar Trump from publicly commenting on the FBI agents involved in the classified documents investigation and Mar-a-Lago raid.
The special counsel’s office sought to make the restriction a condition for Trump to remain free pending trial, arguing that the prohibition was needed after the former president falsely claimed that FBI agents were prepared to kill him when they executed the search warrant on his Florida estate.
During the hearing, Judge Cannon questioned how such a gag order could be fashioned without violating Trump’s right to free speech and pointed out that the names of the FBI agents involved were redacted from court documents to protect them. She also questioned how prosecutors expected to prove that Trump’s comments were directly linked to any harm to the public, should it happen.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche dismissed the claim that Trump’s remarks posed a threat to any law enforcement agent and argued that the special counsel’s request would have a chilling effect on Trump’s free speech.
