Special Counsel Jack Smith seeks emergency protective order against Trump

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Trump Special Counsel Jack Smith filed for an emergency protective order on Friday night after getting spooked by a social media post. The former president posted an allegedly threatening statement on Truth Social and Smith asked for protection.

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Trump posted on Truth Social Friday night the following statement: ‘IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU’ That was the entire post. One statement in all caps. Smith entered it into evidence Friday night shortly after Trump posted it. This is an indication that Smith’s team is actively monitoring Trump’s social media posts. They struck gold with what Smith considers a threat to himself, though Trump didn’t name any names.

Smith alleges the post is a threat to potential witnesses while Team Trump claims Smith is attacking political speech used by Trump. Trump faces allegations of trying to intimidate witnesses. Defendants are provided with evidence against them (discovery) but they cannot publicize it.

‘If the defendant were to begin issuing public posts using details – or, for example, grand jury transcripts – obtained in discovery here, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case,’ Smith wrote.

Smith said the proposed protective order was not ‘overly restrictive,’ noting that it would still enable Trump to use discovery materials in his defense.

‘All the proposed order seeks to prevent is the improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public,’ Smith wrote.

‘Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys and others associated with legal matters pending against him.

‘And in recent days, regarding this case, the defendant has issued multiple posts – either specifically or by implication – including the following, which the defendant posted just hours ago.’

Smith then included a screenshot of the Truth Social post.

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Trump had to have known that Smith would pounce on that post. Smith is determined to show that Trump is intimidating potential witnesses in his case against Trump. He is doing everything he can to toss Trump into jail and prevent him from running against Joe Biden in 2024. Democrats are afraid that Biden is such a weak candidate that in order to keep him in office, Trump must be jailed. This is truly uncharted territory in presidential elections.

The reason Smith brought up the subject of discovery in his request for an emergency protective order is that Smith fears Trump using discovery material against him. Thursday, the judge in his case reminded Trump that it is a crime to intimidate a juror, bribe anyone, or obstruct justice. He responded in the affirmative when asked if he understood what the judge told him. Then, the next day Trump posted that statement.

Trump deliberately plays into the hands of Smith. I say deliberately because Trump is using the indictments as fundraising tools. These court cases against him are costing millions of dollars in legal defense fees. Trump has maneuvered the system so that he uses campaign donations to pay his legal bills. Little old ladies are sending in money to Trump for his re-election and he’s using their money to pay legal bills. It’s a grift, legal or not.

In another Friday post on Truth Social, Trump called on the Supreme Court to intervene in his prosecution. He admits he can’t pay his legal bills and campaign as he needs to do at the same time. This, of course, is exactly what Smith and his ilk set out to do – drain his bank account, cripple his ability to campaign, and then imprison him to get him out of the way.

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In a post on this Truth Social platform, Trump implied that President Joe Biden along with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Attorney General Merrick Garland have brought “a barrage of weak lawsuits” against him, which require a huge amount of time and money to fight in court.

“Resources that would have gone into Ads and Rallies, will now have to be spent fighting these Radical Left Thugs in numerous courts throughout the Country,” he wrote.

Trump repeated his claim that the legal troubles he brought upon himself amount to “election interference” on the part of Biden’s allies.

“The Supreme Court must intercede,” he added.

Trump went after Smith as he spoke during his campaign rally in Alabama on Friday. The Truth Social post was made before he spoke at the rally.

Lawyers for Trump and his co-defendant Walt Nauta didn’t object to the emergency protective order. They have not yet responded to Smith’s request.

Something that struck me is that the legacy media and reporters are so quick to call Jack Smith a badass, a tough guy, someone who isn’t afraid of anyone. Norah O’Donnell slobbered all over herself in admiration of Smith’s physical fitness and his aggressive behavior pattern.

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“I want to spend a moment on Jack Smith because he is essentially who Donald Trump is up against. And multiple of these indictments – the two, of course, the classified documents and January 6 the one, they’re sitting across from each other inside this courtroom,” O’Donnell said. “Jack Smith is somebody who has run and has competed in over 100 triathlons. He was reportedly at one point hit when he was on his bike by a truck and 10 weeks later, he ran another triathlon.”

She continued, “This is a man of a lot of grit and a lot of determination. And even what we have seen in these indictments is just a sliver of what they know and what his prosecutorial team knows, right?”

“His aggressive approach to his personal health and exercise correlates to how he approaches his persecution and his strategy,” CBS News correspondent Robert Costa added.

Tough guy wanted to look concerned about his personal safety and used a social media post to gin up support. Trump brings most of this stuff on himself, that is true. However, Smith and other Democrats are approaching over-reach territory in their pursuit of destroying Trump. They won’t rest until he is in an orange jumpsuit.

Here’s a preview of what may come next:

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