President Trump demands punishment for Jack Smith who criticized judge in classified documents case

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that Special Counsel Jack Smith should be punished. Publishes scathing criticism of recent draft jury instructions By the judge overseeing President Trump confidential document case.

President Trump wrote that Smith “should be sanctioned or censured for the way he has attacked Eileen Cannon, a highly respected judge presiding over a forgery case in Florida.” post on his Truth Social platform. “He is a mean, disrespectful, condescending, vile human being who is clearly trying to ‘play referee.'”

in Tuesday’s court filingMr. Smith criticized Mr. Cannon’s order against dueling jury instructions from Mr. Cannon’s office and Mr. Trump’s lawyers, arguing that the request was based on: “Fundamentally flawed legal premiseIt could “skew” the trial and lead to a direct verdict against Trump. Smith said that if a judge denies federal prosecutors’ request to “expeditiously” determine whether the legal premise of their order constitutes a “correct enactment of law,” federal prosecutors will He indicated he intended to appeal.

the cannon had Directed Mr. Trump and Mr. Smith’s offices to submit two versions of draft jury instructions. A Presidential Records Act related to charges brought against Trump under the Espionage Act for mishandling classified documents. A key element of Trump’s defense is the Presidential Records Act, which governs whether documents are considered personal or presidential documents and whether they can be kept after he leaves office. He claims he has the authority to make decisions. Smith’s office disputes that legal interpretation as false. The law itself requires presidential records to be archived separately from personal records, such as “diaries, logbooks, medical records, etc.”

One scenario in Cannon’s jury instructions would give the jury permission to review records kept by Trump and determine which are “individuals” and “presidential” under the Presidential Records Act. That’s what it is. In the second scenario, a jury based on the premise that under the Act the president has the “sole authority” to legally preserve records upon leaving office by marking them as “personal” or “presidential” records. asked the lawyer to suggest instructions. case.

Smith’s office declined to comment on Trump’s post. Trump’s use of the Presidential Records Act as a defense in the classified documents case is “not based on any factual basis,” his office said in a Tuesday filing.

“This is an after-the-fact justification concocted more than a year after he left the White House, and his invocation of this Presidential Records Act is based on decisions he actually made while president. “The record was not indicted,” the prosecutor said.

former president facing multiple charges After taking office, the president related to allegations of mishandling of classified documents, including intentional retention of national defense information, false statements and representations, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges. In February he sought dismissal of confidential documents lawsuit, claimed he was protected from prosecution based on presidential privilege. Cannon has not yet ruled on the issue.