by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News May 28, 2024
The Florida judge in Donald Trump’s classified documents case on Tuesday denied special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a gag order on the former president.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon pointed out that Smith’s team filed a late Friday motion asking the judge to clarify that public comments from Trump violated his existing conditions of release after he said Joe Biden and the Department of Justice were authorized to “take me out” during the search for documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Prosecutors — who like Trump’s team are required to confer with the other party before filing motions in the case — did not do so until 5:30 p.m. ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
“The Court finds the Special Counsel’s pro forma ‘conferral’ to be wholly lacking in substance and professional courtesy,” Cannon wrote.
“It should go without saying that meaningful conferral is not a perfunctory exercise. Sufficient time needs to be afforded to permit reasonable evaluation of the requested relief by opposing counsel and to allow for adequate follow-up discussion.”
Trump’s lawyers asked Cannon to strike the government’s motion from the court record and sanction the prosecutors who prepared it, saying they violated procedure by filing it without consulting the defense.
Related: DOJ authorized Trump raid using ‘deadly force’ without notifying Secret Service, May 23, 2024
Cannon did not impose sanctions on Smith’s office but warned that failure to comply with the judge’s requirements going forward could lead her to impose them.