Trump’s public comments threaten to intimidate subpoenas and case workers, according to special prosecutor Jack Smith and his aides, who cited Trump’s comments in a letter to the court.
For example, Trump wrote on social media: “If you turn on me, I’ll turn on you,” which is emphatic to the prosecutor, who wants to see a narrow, well-defined warning for Trump before the trial.
Prosecutors in the case have for weeks expressed concern about Trump’s verbal attacks. But Friday’s letter is the first formal request to be filed in court.
“By his statements, the defendant threatens to undermine the integrity of these proceedings and harm the jury,” prosecutors wrote.
But Trump shows no signs yet of moderating his rhetoric. Shortly after prosecutors filed the memo, he repeated allegations that his political opponents had turned the FBI and Department of Justice into political weapons.
“They are leaking, lying, suing, and not letting me speak?” Trump wrote in a post on his platform, Truth Social, where he described President Joe Biden as “dishonest” and Smith as “unhinged.”
The four-point indictment relates to Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and described the crimes as a conspiracy, among other things.
“The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by intentionally using false claims of election fraud,” the 45-page indictment said.
According to the indictment, Trump allegedly attempted to alter the results after the 2020 presidential election in his favor. It culminated in the storming of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. But before that, Trump reportedly tried to influence, among other things, election workers and elected officials in several states.
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith says the storming of the Capitol was carried out by Trump supporters motivated by his lies about election fraud. Inside the building, Congress was about to formally nominate Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election when Trump supporters came forward.
Several conspirators are named in the indictment, but not by name because they are not accused of any crimes.
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