'Whiniest pleading': Legal experts scoff at Trump lawyers’ latest filing against Jack Smith

27 May 2024

Donald Trump lawyers on Monday responded to special counsel Jack Smith's latest request in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.

Smith asked Judge Aileen Cannon for a partial gag order on the former president following Trump's claim last week that President Joe Biden and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) planned to assassinate him during the agency's raid on the Florida residence in 2022.

Issued on Friday, May 24, the special counsel "told Cannon that a limited gag order is needed in order to discourage Trump from making statements 'that pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents.'"

Now, team Trump wants Smith to be sanctioned.

CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlyne reported via X (formerly Twitter), "NEW: Trump defense asks judge to reject Jack Smith request in Florida case that Trump be restricted from statements that 'pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents' & deceptive claims about agents And Trump seeks sanctions against Smith team."

MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin wrote: "ICYMI: Trump baselessly accused Biden of trying to assassinate him by using standard FBI protocol on a day everyone knew Trump would not be present. The Special Counsel asked for relief. But now Trump’s team wants sanctions because they got insufficient notice of their client’s highly dangerous statements."

Bradley P. Moss commented: "I’ve skimmed the motion. I don’t expect Cannon to take the bait. She doesn’t want the 11th Circuit involved. And if she takes Trump up on this offer, they would become involved."

New York Times and Washington Post columnist Randall Eliason said: "I think this is the whiniest pleading I've ever read."

Read the filing here.

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