Trump blasts partial gag order: Jack Smith ‘wants to take away my right of speaking freely’

Former President Trump attacked Justice Department (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith after the prosecutor asked for a partial gag order in the trial related to Trump’s alleged effort to overturn the 2020 election.

“Deranged Jack Smith, he’s the prosecutor, he’s a deranged person, wants to take away my rights under the First Amendment,” Trump said during a speech Friday at the Concerned Women of America conference in Washington. “He wants to take away my right of speaking freely and openly.”

“Never forget our enemies want to stop us because we are the only ones that can stop them,” the former president continued. “They want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom.”

Smith requested a limited gag order to prevent Trump from saying “certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements,” seeking a “narrow, well-defined restriction” on what the former president can say about the case. 

The order would include limiting what he can say about court testimony and witnesses in order to prevent interference in the trial.

“The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.

“Since the indictment in this case, the defendant has spread disparaging and inflammatory public posts on Truth Social on a near-daily basis regarding the citizens of the District of Columbia, the Court, prosecutors, and prospective witnesses,” DOJ continued.

Trump’s attorneys have opposed such an order.

“These people are sick,” Trump said on Friday. “They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you, never.”

“And in the end they’re not after me, they’re after you,” he added. “I just happened to be standing in their way, unfortunately for me, but you’re lucky.”

Trump’s looming legal woes include four federal indictments with charges related to falsification of business records, mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House and his alleged efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election to President Biden.

In this federal election interference case, led by Smith, the former president was charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., alongside obstruction and other lesser charges.