Jack Smith accuses Trump of ‘threatening’ Mark Meadows; asks for gag order to be revived

Special Counsel Jack Smith has implored a judge to revive the partial gag order in the federal election interference case against Donald Trump – citing the ex-president’s “threatening” social media posts about former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Smith’s team argued in a filing late Wednesday that Trump, 77, is capitalizing on a stay in the gag order “to send an unmistakable message to a foreseeable witness in this case… with knowledge that it would reach him.”

Trump on Tuesday targeted his former ally in a tirade on Truth Social after it was reported that Meadows had cut a deal with prosecutors granting him immunity in exchange for his testimony in the case.

“Some people would make that deal, but they are weaklings and cowards, and so bad for the future our Failing Nation. I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them, but who really knows?” Trump wrote.

Washington DC federal court Judge Tanya Chutkan suspended the gag order she imposed in the case last Monday after Trump’s legal team appealed.

The order would bar Trump from attacking prosecutors, court staff or their families — or discussing possible witnesses or testimony in the case.

But Trump has seized on the opening while the appeal plays out, prosecutors claimed.

Earlier this week, he lashed out at Anthony Pratt, an Australian billionaire and likely witness in the separate classified document case, branding him a “red haired weirdo,” and also slammed Smith, calling him “deranged.”

The former president’s screed against Meadows came on the heels of an ABC report Tuesday that the former chief of staff told prosecutors he’d informed Trump that his allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 election were unfounded.

Meadows was granted immunity for his testimony, according to the report. Prosecutors did not confirm or deny the ABC story in their Wednesday filing.

The 32-page filing from Smith’s team cited half a dozen Truth Social posts from Trump, including the one about Meadows.

“I don’t think Mark Meadows would lie about the Rigged and Stollen 2020 Presidential Election merely for getting IMMUNITY against Prosecution (PERSECUTION!) by Deranged Prosecutor, Jack Smith,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“BUT, when you really think about it, after being hounded like a dog for three years, told you’ll be going to jail for the rest of your life, your money and your family will be forever gone, and we’re not at all interested in exposing those that did the RIGGING,” Trump added.

Prosecutors also flagged a post where Trump mused that the government was seeking to “silence me” and make “it impossible for me to criticize those who are doing the silencing, namely Crooked Joe Biden, and his corrupt and weaponized DOJ & FBI.”

“It is instructive to examine the scope of the Order in light of the things the defendant claimshe needs to be able to say to defend himself and run for office,” Smith’s team wrote before referencing the Truth Social post.

“The Order, however, leaves him entirely free to do those things. He can criticize the incumbentpresident and the Department of Justice. Indeed, he freely did so while the Order was in effect.”

Trump’s legal team is mounting a First Amendment challenge against the partial gag order, arguing that it undercuts his campaign for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination.

“The indictment herein is of enormous public concern and a central issue in the upcoming election,” Trump’s lawyers wrote last week.

“Thus, President Trump’s opinions of the prosecution, the government officials pursuing him, and the witnesses against him are all core political statements entitled to the highest degree of deference.” 

The former president also got some backing from the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed in support of his bid to quash the partial gag order.

Prosecutors have insisted that the order was “narrowly tailored” and stressed that without it in place, Trump’s “targeted disparagement of this sort can pose a real danger.”

“What the defendant is fighting for here, however, is the right to go far beyond these sorts of measures so that he can continue using disparaging and inflammatory language that would never be put in a court filing, like ‘fraud,’ ‘hack,’ and ‘thug,'” they wrote.

The 2020 election case isn’t the only one where Trump’s mouth has gotten him into trouble.

On Wednesday, during an appearance in the sprawling $250 million civil fraud case, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to cough up $10,000 for breaching a partial gag order by allegedly publicly disparaging a court staffer during his appearance.

“This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside of him?'” Trump said to TV cameras outside the courtroom.

Engoron later called Trump to the stand and asked him to whom he was referring. Trump replied that he talking about his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen who gave testimony that day.

But the judge didn’t believe Trump and slapped him with the fine.

The Post contacted Trump’s legal team for comment on the recent filing from Smith’s team.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all four counts in that case on Aug. 3.

That trial is set for for March 4, 2024, just one day before the Super Tuesday presidential primary contests.

Trump’s team has unsuccessfully tried to move the start date back

The 2024 GOP frontrunner is also facing a 34-count case out of Manhattan regarding alleged concealment of hush-money payments, a 40-count indictment from Smith for allegedly hoarding a tranche of national security documents, and 13 counts for alleged election subversion in Georgia. 

Trump has strenuously denied wrongdoing in all cases pending against him and dubbed his mounting legal woes a “witch hunt” and election interference.

His attorneys are expected to respond to Smith’s team in a filing.