‘Trump has right to free speech but that right is not absolute’, says judge
The protective order hearing at federal court in Washington DC has begun, with US judge Tanya Chutkan announcing that it is her intention to issue a protective order and resolve objections from both sides.
Trump’s lawyers are expected to urge Chutkan to allow him more freedom to publicly share pieces of evidence that will be used in the trial over subversion of the 2020 presidential election.
Meanwhile, prosecutors, who have requested Chutkan to impose a protective order, are concerned that Trump may weaponize certain details of the confidential evidence against witnesses and in turn intimidate them.
Chutkan said that she will not factor the effect of the scope of the protective order on Trump’s presidential campaign, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell, who is at the hearing, reports.
“Mr Trump, like every American, has a first amendment right to free speech, but that right is not absolute,” Chutkan said, adding: “I intend to keep politics out of this.”
Key events
Hugo Lowell
US judge Tanya Chutkan said she will adopt the defense’s scope for the protective order – non sensitive material won’t be covered – because she is not persuaded that the justice department showed good cause.
However, she notes that Trump is bound by release conditions preventing witness intimidation anyway.
Chutkan denied the defense’s other edits, saying Trump’s ask to broaden the definition of authorized people to access the discovery material is too broad and could “include just about anyone” including “unindicted co-conspirators”.
‘Trump has right to free speech but that right is not absolute’, says judge
The protective order hearing at federal court in Washington DC has begun, with US judge Tanya Chutkan announcing that it is her intention to issue a protective order and resolve objections from both sides.
Trump’s lawyers are expected to urge Chutkan to allow him more freedom to publicly share pieces of evidence that will be used in the trial over subversion of the 2020 presidential election.
Meanwhile, prosecutors, who have requested Chutkan to impose a protective order, are concerned that Trump may weaponize certain details of the confidential evidence against witnesses and in turn intimidate them.
Chutkan said that she will not factor the effect of the scope of the protective order on Trump’s presidential campaign, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell, who is at the hearing, reports.
“Mr Trump, like every American, has a first amendment right to free speech, but that right is not absolute,” Chutkan said, adding: “I intend to keep politics out of this.”
Hugo Lowell
“Mr Trump, like every American, has a first amendment right to free speech, but that right is not absolute,” said judge Tanya Chutkan.
Hugo Lowell
US judge Tanya Chutkan says it is her intention to issue a protective order and resolve objections from both sides at today’s hearing.
Hugo Lowell
Donald Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche, John Lauro and Greg Singer are in the courtroom for the hearing before the US district court judge Tanya Chutkan, scheduled to start at 10am.
Prosecutors from the special counsel’s office, Molly Gaston and Thomas Windom, have also arrived in the courtroom.
Gaston brings significant January 6-related experience to the special counsel’s team. She was the assistant US attorney who prosecuted former Trump strategist Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress after he defied the House January 6 committee’s subpoena in 2021, and has prosecuted dozens of January 6 riot defendants with obstruction of an official proceeding — one of the charges that have been brought against Trump.
West Virginia’s Democratic senator Joe Manchin is expected to skip the White House’s celebration next week of the Inflation Reduction Act’s first anniversary as he considers switching his party affiliation.
Manchin’s decision to skip the event on the IRA (which he helped draft), which NBC first reported on Friday, comes as the conservative Democratic said in a radio interview with MetroNews that he has been “absolutely” thinking about changing his party affiliation to Independent “for quite some time.”
Manchin said that he has been “thinking seriously what’s best for” him, adding, “I want to be able to speak honestly about, basically, the extremes of the Democrat and Republican Party that is harming our nation.”
Last month, Manchin said that he has not yet made a decision on whether he will run for president. Nevertheless, he said during a town hall, “I’ve been in races to win. If I get in a race, I’m gonna win,” adding that both the Republican and Democratic parties will be “in trouble” if a third party enters the picture of the 2024 race.
Should Manchin decide to leave the Democratic party, he will follow in the footsteps of Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema, who last December announced her affiliation switch to Independent.
Donald Trump’s lawyers John Lauro and Todd Blanche have arrived at the DC courthouse for the protective order hearing.
The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell is at the scene and will be bringing us the latest updates.
New: Trump lawyers John Lauro, Todd Blanche have arrived at the DC courthouse for the Trump protective order hearing today at 10a ET
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) August 11, 2023
Federal prosecutors and Donald Trump attorneys to attend protective order hearing
Federal prosecutors and Donald Trump attorneys are scheduled to attend a hearing at the US district court in Washington DC today at 10am over special counsel Jack Smith’s request to limit Trump’s ability to publicly reveal evidence collected during the January 6 criminal investigation.
The US district judge Tanya Chutkan is set to preside over the hearing, which comes a week after Trump’s arraignment during which he pleaded not guilty to four charges over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump’s lawyers are expected to urge Chutkan to allow him more freedom to publicly share pieces of evidence that will be used in the trial over subversion of the 2020 presidential election.
Prosecutors have requested Chutkan to impose a protective order that would guard evidence before sharing the materials with Trump’s attorneys. Prosecutors are concerned that Trump may weaponize certain details of the confidential evidence against witnesses and in turn intimidate them.
Trump has already attacked Chutkan, writing on Truth Social: “There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge ‘assigned’ to the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case.” At one point, the former president also wrote: “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!”
Trump has criticized the indictment as a political witch-hunt led by the Joe Biden administration.
CNN reports that the security detail assigned to Chutkan has been increased in the feral courthouse. A spokesperson from the US Marshals Service told the outlet: “Ensuring that judges can rule independently and free from harm or intimidation is paramount to the rule of law, and a fundamental mission of the USMS.”
“While we do not discuss our specific security measures, we continuously review the measures in place and take appropriate steps to ensure the integrity of the federal judicial process,” he added.
Good morning, US politics readers.
A hearing at the US district court in Washington DC is on the books today at 10am with federal prosecutors and Donald Trump’s attorneys.
The hearing, which the US district judge Tanya Chutkan will preside over, surrounds federal prosecutors’ request for a protective order to reject Trump’s request for fewer restrictions on his ability to publicly share evidence collected throughout the January 6 criminal case.
Trump’s lawyers are expected to urge Chutkan to allow him more freedom to publicly share pieces of evidence that will be used in the trial over subversion of the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors are concerned that Trump may weaponize certain details of the confidential evidence against witnesses and in turn intimidate them.
Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to four charges over efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, is not expected to appear at today’s hearing.
We will bring you the latest updates from the hearing.
Here are other developments in US politics:
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Conservative supreme court justice Clarence Thomas is facing criticism over his “unprecedented, stunning, disgusting” acceptance of luxury gifts from GOP billionaire donor Harlan Crow.
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The Fulton county district attorney investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 elections in Georgia has evidence to charge several of his allies involved in tampering with voting machines, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Vice–President Kamala Harris is scheduled to participate in a moderated conversation on gun safety in Chicago this afternoon.
