FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s classified documents case reprimanded a prosecutor from special counsel Jack Smith’s office at a hearing Monday on a proposed gag order for the former president.
“I don’t appreciate your tone,” U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said when attorney David Harbach appeared to get exasperated as she questioned the need to modify Trump’s conditions of release. Smith’s office has challenged those conditions over Trump’s false claims that FBI agents were prepared to kill him while they were executing a 2022 search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The tense exchange at a federal courthouse in Fort Pierce came as attorney Harbach was arguing that Cannon should bar Trump from making more inflammatory statements about FBI agents who worked on the investigation.
Cannon had noted that the agents’ names were redacted in court filings, while Harbach was pointing out the agents were doxxed shortly after the search. Cannon told Harbach that his behavior was unprofessional and warned she would require someone else to make his arguments if he did not correct his behavior.
Harbach later apologized. “I didn’t mean to be unprofessional,” he said.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche urged Cannon to deny the prosecution’s request, arguing that Trump’s comments cited by government attorneys were directed at President Joe Biden and not the FBI.
“If you look at the actual posts, there’s no threats to FBI agents,” Blanche said. “The attacks are against Joe Biden.”
One of Trump’s Truth Social posts last month falsely claimed that "Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their Illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE.”
Trump’s statements last month were based on a “standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force” that is commonly included in search warrants, according to the FBI. In addition, Trump was not in Florida during the raid; the FBI coordinated the search of Mar-a-Lago when it knew he would be out of state.
Blanche told the judge Monday that if she agreed to modify the terms of Trump’s release to bar him from making similar statements in the future, Trump could be arrested if he violated the order during Thursday’s presidential debate. Blanche also contended the proposed restrictions are so vague that they are “incredibly chilling.”
Harbach urged Cannon to act now and not “wait for tragedy to strike.”
Cannon suggested she was skeptical of Harbach’s argument that Trump’s comments can be followed by violence from his supporters, saying some “actual connection between A & B” was still needed.
Cannon did not issue a ruling on prosecutors’ request for a gag order at the end of the 90-minute hearing. Instead, she said both sides have until Wednesday to file additional evidence for her to consider.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges related to his handling of classified material. No trial date has been set.
Owen Hayes and Jake Traylor reported from Fort Pierce and Dareh Gregorian from New York.
