Florida files lawsuit disputing pursued gag order on Trump in classified docs case
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and a host of other Republican states filed a lawsuit Sunday disputing the legality of special counsel Jack Smith’s effort to obtain a gag order on former President Donald Trump in his classified documents case.
The federal case is taking place in Florida, arguing the former president illegally mishandled classified documents at his estate. The case’s publicity blew open with a raid of Mar-a-Lago in 2022.
“Once again, we are witnessing a prosecutor seek to keep the presumptive Republican nominee for President from speaking in the midst of an election,” the Florida attorney general said. “The First Amendment, at its core, is designed to protect political speech, and I along with my colleagues will not stand idly by and watch the Biden administration trample the free speech of a Florida citizen.”
Moody said that Smith is trying to silence Trump’s “constitutionally protected speech,” arguing such a move is “unconstitutional.”
“If granted, this request would prevent the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States from speaking out against ‘the prosecution and the criminal trial process that seek to take away his liberty,'” the brief said, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida, West Palm Beach Division.
Other states joining Florida include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
The suit argues that the pursued gag order wants to silence statements from Trump posing a “significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents participating in the investigation,” but that the government “does not explain” further what these statements are.
Another part of their argument is that Smith “cannot meet the heavy burden required for a content-based prior restraint.”
“It never explains with any specificity how Trump’s comments have endangered the judicial process itself,” the suit states. “For example, the special prosecutor never offers proof that the Court will be unable to sit a fair jury because of any comments from President Trump…Nor does the special prosecutor allege (let alone prove) that any comments will sway witnesses or otherwise color the evidence.”
Finally, the coalition of states argues that the gag order is “interference” in the 2024 election.
“The special prosecutor’s request will prohibit President Trump from discussing major campaign issues during a presidential election year,” the filing says. “Issuing a prior restraint against President Trump here would set an unsettling precedent for future political candidates.”
The states warn that if granted, Smith’s gag order on Trump burdens the “democratic process.”
“Gagging a candidate means that constituents cannot hear how the candidate will reply to a given issue of concern—a concern like the weaponization of prosecutorial processes against political opponents,” the states said.
Florida’s action comes as the state’s officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, have vowed to protect Trump’s rights through his legal troubles during the election. DeSantis recently said he would ensure Trump’s voting rights were restored if the New York guilty verdict jeopardized them due to felony status.
