'Bogus through and through': Ex-solicitor general torpedoes Trump’s 'First Amendment' complaints

09 August 2023

Former United States Solicitor General Neal Katyal on Tuesday night's edition of The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell smacked down thrice-indicted ex-President Donald Trump's claims that Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith's request for a protective order is a violation of his First Amendment rights.

Judge Tanya Sue Chutkan of the District Court for the District of Columbia will consider arguments this Friday from Smith and whomever from Trump's legal team is able to attend on whether Trump violated the terms of his release when he attacked Chutkan, Smith, and Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, as well as 2024 presidential candidates Mike Pence and Chris Christie.

In New Hampshire on Tuesday night, Trump vowed to say what he pleases regardless of the consequences, and MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell recalled that "Trump does not tell the crowd that his criminal defense attorneys have already agreed to most of the restrictions that Jack Smith's protective order is asking for. So that would mean according to Donald Trump that his criminal defense lawyers are also trying to take away his First Amendment rights."

O'Donnell played a recording of Trump complaining that "The thug prosecutor, this deranged guy to file a court order, taking away my first amendment rights so that I can't speak. So listen to this. So in other words, I'll be the only politician in American history not allowed to speak. Because of our corrupt system."

O'Donnell asked Katyal, "Is Jack Smith trying to take away his First Amendment rights?"

Katyal responded that while "Trump is right — he is the first politician, or at least the first president to be accused of several serious federal felonies now with two different indictments — the idea that this has to do with his First Amendment rights is bogus through and through, and I think Jack Smith debunked it in the filing earlier this week before Judge Chutkan."

Kaytal pointed out that Smith already informed Trump, "'Look, I'm not trying to undermine your First Amendment rights. You're allowed to speak and so on. But there's a difference between speaking and intimidating witnesses.' And Trump was warned about this, Lawrence, at his arraignment in an extraordinary moment last week with the judge. The judge said, 'Look, you can't go and try and influence jurors and things like that.' He said he understood. And then within twenty-four hours here he is threatening, you know, basically, you know, intimidating witnesses from Mike Pence and saying, 'If you, if you come after me, I'll come after you' to the whole world and so on."

Katyal continued, "This is not the way that any other criminal trial could operate. And if you let this defendant get away with it, then every other defendant can get away with it. There's no First Amendment right here. Trump is right that it is his speech — it's his social media post and what he says about Pence, it is verbalized through speech — but it is impermissible every day of every week because intimidation of witnesses often occurs through speech. And yet it's punishable and separately, you know, protective orders and other things are used. So what the judge, what the government is seeking here, the special counsel, is absolutely reasonable."

Katyal added, "I think Trump's arguments are going nowhere, and instead of spending all this time sending tweets and chatting with the press, I think his lawyers should spend some time, you know, formulating a decent argument."

Watch the segment below or at this link.

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