Federal prosecutors ask judge to bar some Trump commentary
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors in the case charging Donald Trump with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election are seeking an order that would restrict the former president from “inflammatory” and “intimidating” comments about witnesses, lawyers and the judge.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team said in a motion filed Friday that such a “narrow, welldefined” order was necessary to preserve the integrity of the case and to avoid prejudicing potential jurors.
“Since the grand jury returned an indictment in this case, the defendant has repeatedly and widely disseminated public statements attacking the citizens of the District of Columbia, the Court, prosecutors and prospective witnesses,” prosecutors wrote. “Through his statements, the defendant threatens to undermine the integrity of these proceedings and prejudice the jury pool.”
They said Trump’s efforts to weaken faith in the court system and the administration of justice mirror his attacks on the 2020 election, which he falsely claimed that he had won.
“The defendant is now attempting to do the same thing in this criminal case — to undermine confidence in the criminal justice system and prejudice the jury pool through disparaging and inflammatory attacks on the citizens of this District, the Court, prosecutors and prospective witnesses,” they wrote.
Among the statements cited by prosecutors in their motion is a post on his Truth Social platform days after the indictment in which Trump wrote, in all capital letters, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!”
He has also repeatedly alleged on social media that the case against him is “rigged” and that he cannot receive a fair trial. And he has attacked in personal terms the prosecutors bringing the case — calling Smith “deranged” and his team “thugs” — as well as the judge presiding over the case, Tanya Chutkan.
A Trump spokesperson said in a statement that prosecutors were “corruptly and cynically continuing to attempt to deprive President Trump of his First Amendment rights.”
Also Friday, Smith’s team pushed back against the Trump team’s request to have Chutkan recuse herself from the case. Defense lawyers had cited prior comments from Chutkan that they say cast doubt on her ability to be fair, but prosecutors responded that there was no valid basis for her to step aside.
Paxton impeachment: The impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton moved Friday into the hands of a Senate jury that was deciding whether the embattled Republican should be removed from office over corruption allegations that have shadowed him for years.
The deliberations pushed Paxton, whose three terms in office have been marred by scandal and criminal charges, closer to a defining test of his political durability after an extraordinary impeachment that was driven by his fellow Republicans and has widened party fractures in America’s biggest red state.
If convicted, Paxton would become Texas’ first statewide official convicted on impeachment charges in more than 100 years.
Boebert theater incident:
Newly released surveillance video from a Denver theater appears to show Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert vaping during a “Beetlejuice” musical play — the one thing she denied doing while acknowledging earlier this week that she had been kicked out for being disruptive.
Boebert and her guest were escorted out of the play Sunday after audience members accused two guests of vaping, singing, using phones and causing a disturbance, according to theater representatives and video from the publicly owned Buell Theater.
Boebert campaign manager Drew Sexton confirmed this week she had been kicked out but denied she was vaping. Sexton did not immediately respond to messages Friday seeking comment about the latest video.
In her relatively short time in Washington, Boebert has built a national profile and has aligned with the extreme right wing of the GOP. Her combative style has grabbed media headlines, most famously when she heckled President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union address.
UK to ban dog breed: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday described American XL Bully dogs as a “danger to our communities” and announced plans to ban the breed following a public outcry after a series of recent attacks.
Sunak said he has asked government ministers to bring together police and canine experts to legally define the characteristics of the American XL Bully, which is not recognized as a breed by groups such as the Kennel Club in Britain or the American Kennel Club in the United States.
The government has been under pressure to take action after an 11-yearold girl was attacked and seriously injured by an
American XL Bully on Sept. 9 in Birmingham, England. Those concerns deepened on Thursday after a man was killed in an attack that may have involved this type of dog.
Kabul airport attack review:
The Pentagon’s Central Command has ordered interviews of roughly two dozen more service members who were at the Kabul airport when suicide bombers attacked during U.S. forces’ chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, as criticism persists that the deadly assault could have been stopped.
The interviews, ordered by Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, were triggered in part by assertions by at least one service member injured in the blast who said he was never interviewed about it and that he might have been able to stop the attackers.
The interviews are meant to see if service members who were not included in the original investigation have new or different information.
Some families of those killed and injured have complained that the Pentagon hasn’t been transparent enough about the bombing that killed 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. servicemen and women.
Space station crew: One American and two Russians made a quick trip Friday to the International Space Station aboard a Russian capsule.
NASA astronaut Loral O’hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked at the station three hours later. O’hara will spend six months there, while Kononenko and Chub will spend a year.
The trio was supposed to fly to the space station last spring, but their capsule was needed as a replacement for another crew.