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This week, in another blow to Special Counsel Jack Smith, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon denied his May 24 request for a gag order against President Trump, which was filed just three days after it was revealed that the FBI had authorization to use deadly force during the Mar-a-Lago raid. It illustrates yet another turn of events that could potentially signal fair winds for President Trump’s legal battle in Florida.
Judge Cannon’s order hammered Smith for “lack of meaningful conferral” before filing the motion, which violated the court’s rules. Cannon referenced an email correspondence between Trump’s legal team and Smith’s, writing that the “Court finds the Special Counsel’s pro forma ‘conferral’ to be wholly lacking in substance and professional courtesy. It should go without saying that meaningful conferral is not a perfunctory exercise.”
Cannon made clear that Smith’s team did not give Trump’s team “sufficient time” to review and respond to the proposed motion. “Because the filing of the Special Counsel’s motion did not adhere to these basic requirements, it is due to be denied without prejudice,” Cannon wrote.
The initial email from Smith’s legal team to President Trump’s legal team at 5:30 p.m. on May 24 accused the 45th president of making “false statements about the inclusion of the FBI’s standard use of force policy in the operations plan for the search of Mar-a-Lago.”
The email also said that Smith’s team knew that Trump’s team would “oppose this motion and will want an opportunity to respond,” and that the plan was “to file the motion later this evening.”
Todd Blanche, the attorney representing President Trump in the classified documents case and the ongoing hush money trial, responded to the email just 10 minutes later. He pointed out that “the names of the law enforcement officers associated” with the Mar-a-Lago raid “have been redacted from all public filings,” noting, “There cannot be a real imminent danger, as you are well-aware.”
Blanche concluded his email by suggesting “to meet and confer” on Memorial Day afternoon, allowing time to discuss the matter with President Trump. Smith’s team’s response attempted to reason why a meeting would be pointless, calling it a “fruitless exercise” that “does nothing to mitigate the danger” created by President Trump. The email also referenced President Trump’s refusal to comply with the gag order in the hush money trial.
Trump’s team then blasted Smith’s team for its “blatant violation of the rules,” concluding the email with, “We will respond accordingly.”
Trump’s team’s response to the court argued that the Department of Justice was pushing “unconstitutional censorship,” and recommended that the Court “strike the Motion, make civil contempt filings as to all government attorneys who participated in the decision to file the Motion without meaningful conferral, and impose sanctions after holding an evidentiary hearing regarding the purpose and intent behind the Office’s decision to willfully disregard required procedures.”
In her denial order, Cannon warned Smith’s team, writing, “Failure to comply with these requirements may result in sanctions.”
Smith’s classified documents case has been indefinitely postponed by Judge Cannon, taking another arduous court trial off Trump’s docket for now, amidst a year filled with difficult legal battles.
