WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2023) Attorneys representing former US President Donald Trump filed a court document arguing against the US government's request for a protective order to keep evidence from the public in the criminal case involving Trump's alleged role in efforts to overturn the 2020 US presidential election.
The government is requesting the court restrict all of their produced documents without regard for their relative sensitivity. Trump's attorneys are instead proposing to shield only sensitive materials from public view.
"The government requests the Court assume the role of censor and impose content-based regulations on President Trump's political speech that would forbid him from publicly discussing or disclosing all non-public documents produced by the government, including both purportedly sensitive materials," the document, filed Monday, said. "This untargeted method offends... the First Amendment, which requires a compelling government interest and narrow tailoring to justify a prior restraint."
Trump's defense team said he does not contest the government's claimed interest in restricting some documents it must produce, but rather, just a blanket gag order.
The lawyers argued that the court should limit its protective order to "genuinely sensitive material" in order to satisfy the government's interest in confidentiality while preserving the rights of Trump and the public.
Trump's attorneys also said US President Joe Biden, who is poised to run against Trump in the 2024 US presidential election, has "capitalized" on the indictment by making references to it.
The request was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, where Trump faces criminal charges including conspiracy against rights and conspiracy to defraud the United States for his alleged role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results through the January 6 US Capitol riot and related activities.
Trump, who also faces criminal charges linked to other cases, has characterized the indictment as part of a broader weaponization of the US justice system against him.
