“If you sue me, I’ll sue you!” vociferates – in capital letters – the former president of the United States in a post on his social network Truth Social, dated Friday, August 4. Donald Trump, accustomed to outrages, has further hardened his arm wrestling with the judicial authorities. Prosecutors immediately denounced this message from the billionaire, potentially aiming to intimidate witnesses or investigators who are prosecuting him for having tried to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election and favored the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
A few hours after the post, the team of special prosecutor Jack Smith thus seized judge Tanya Chutkan, called to preside over the future trial of the 77-year-old ex-president, asking her to issue an order as soon as possible to protect evidence and witnesses in this resounding affair.
A history of bullying
The accused defended himself from any pressure, claiming to have addressed his political opponents, the day after his appearance before a federal court in Washington. During the appearance, he pleaded not guilty to the four charges against him, including detailed in the indictment issued and annotated by the New York Times. In a statement released early Saturday by his campaign team, Trump certifies that his message fell within the boundaries of “free political expression”, and was even a “perfect example”. According to him, these words were in particular a “response to those who are only republican in name” or even “to lovers of China”.
To support their request, the prosecutors pointed out that Donald Trump is not at his first attempt. “The defendant has previously made public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, lawyers and others associated with ongoing legal cases against him,” they write. In 2019, House of Representatives deputies previously debated adding an attempted intimidation charge, via a tweet, to former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch after her testimony public against the president.
Using Grand Jury Notes
The prosecutors’ concern is fueled by the fact that, according to the principle of adversarial debate, Donald Trump’s lawyers will be provided with a whole series of documents that have fueled the indictment file. These documents emanate in particular from the grand jury, a panel of citizens responsible for investigating and possibly recommending an indictment in the American criminal procedure. The taking of a protective order by the judge would thus make it possible to “prevent the inappropriate dissemination or use of the documents of the procedure, in particular to the public”, insists the prosecutor Jack Smith, who has become Donald Trump’s pet peeve.
“If the defendant were to publicly issue messages using details – or, for example, grand jury notes, it could have a chilling effect on witnesses or interfere with the proper handling of this case by the court,” he details. Judge Tanya Chutkan has given Trump’s advisers until 5 p.m. Monday to send the court their response to Attorney Smith’s motion. The judge added that she will determine whether or not a hearing is needed after reviewing Trump’s response. Protection orders are common in cases involving confidential documents.
“Cleaning up” at the Ministry of Justice
A few hours later, on Saturday August 5, during a speech in South Carolina, the ex-president promised to clean up the Department of Justice “today totally corrupt”, before qualifying Jack Smith, the special prosecutor, of “crazy”. “If you look at this face, you think this guy is sick,” said Donald Trump. If re-elected, he said he would appoint his own special prosecutor to punish “all dishonest acts, including bribes that go into the pockets of the Biden mafia family.”
The White House responded that the Justice Department operates independently and that President Biden’s team is not involved in court cases targeting Donald Trump, who says he is the victim of a “witch hunt”. The date of the historic trial is expected to be set at the end of August, with prosecutor Smith wanting to see the case tried “without delay”.