Judge Chutkan warns against ‘disparagement of a witness’ and risk of ‘carnival atmosphere’ as she prepares to issue a protective order for Trump, repeatedly referring to his ‘release terms’

Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a stern admonition at the end of her first hearing overseeing former Presidnet Donald Trump’s case on Jan. 6, warning she would not let it turn into “a carnival atmosphere of uncontrolled publicity and adjudication by the media’.

Her warning came at the end of a hearing where she repeatedly referred to former President Donald Trump’s “release terms” at a hearing on Friday, where the president’s lawyer spoke openly about Trump’s need to deputize the “political opponent” to challenge President Mike Pence.

As the federal judge prepared to issue a protective order to Trump in a measure designed to protect trial information and witnesses, Trump attorney John Lauro repeatedly invoked the presidential campaign.

She said she intended to “ensure Mr. Trump has all the rights every citizen would have,” citing a Supreme Court case that warned of a “carnival atmosphere.”

When the judge warned against protecting against “disparagement of a witness,” Lauro replied, “Your Honor, you may have Mr. Pence in mind,” after Trump ranted online against Pence and their ongoing dispute over Jan. 6.

“President Trump has the ability to respond fairly to political opponents,” Lauro said, noting the need to protect Trump’s First Amendment rights even as he runs for the Republican presidential nomination.

But the judge brought up Trump’s “day job” and said the defendant’s desire to respond to opponents “must give way.”

“This is a criminal case.” She cited “the need for this criminal case to proceed in the normal order” while protecting witnesses and the “integrity of the trial,” saying it means “there will be limits to the defendants’ speech.”

Lauro brought up Pence again when he and the administration negotiated the terms of such an order, which would limit how Trump assesses materials the administration must hand over and what he can say about it.

Lauro brought up the campaign again, arguing that a decision “will give President Biden a huge advantage in the middle of a campaign.”

Chutkan replied that such matters “can and I will play no role in my decision” and that she would ignore “the effect it will have on a political campaign for both parties.”

“The fact that there is a political campaign going on will not affect my decision in any way,” she said.

Judge Chutkan said Trump retains First Amendment rights.

“But I can see how releasing statements about potential witnesses prior to trial will in itself affect the orderly administration of justice and, Mr. Lauro, could not violate his parole terms,” ​​she said.

Judge Chutkan warned against “disparagement of a witness,” prompting Trump attorney John Lauro to ask if she was referring to Trump’s attacks on former Vice President Mike Pence

Trump’s lawyers advocated maximizing his ability to review material and speak publicly about what he knows. The judge warned against statements that ‘disparage’ a witness

Lauro noted that Pence’is now a political opponent in a campaign,” warning that it would be unfair not to allow Trump to respond based on his own memories and materials from his time in office.

Trump said on Jan. 6 that Pence lacked “courage” for not refusing to accept votes certified by states for Joe Biden. Pence recently accused Trump of listening to “crackpot” lawyers at the time.

Both sides spent more than an hour negotiating how Trump might review material — which the administration revealed would consist of a staggering 11.6 million documents in just the initial “production” of evidence.

Judge Chutkan made several “compromise” rulings on technical details of the warrant, but also made it clear she is interested in keeping up with the pace of the trial.

She vowed, “I will take whatever steps are necessary to preserve the integrity of this proceeding.”

And she had a warning aimed at Trump’s team as the administration invokes the Speedy Trial Act, and Trump’s lawyers stress how much material they need to review in what could be a bid on time.

She said even ambiguous public statements could reasonably be interpreted as “harassment” or “biased jurors.”

If that proves to be a threat to the process, “the greater the urgency will be that we move quickly to the process,” she said – essentially warning that she could expedite the process even more.

Although he repeatedly warned against witness intimidation, the judge conceded to some of Lauro’s requests. When asked whether the warrant should be applied to both sensitive and non-sensitive information, she followed the defense’s narrower proposal.

She also allowed Trump to view prosecution materials without any of his lawyers present. But she took steps to stop him from copying or leaking it: He’s not allowed to carry a phone or photocopier with him, nor can he take it with him if he leaves the room where he’s viewing it.

While fighting over the terms of the warrant, Lauro described himself as utterly hopeless.

“As far as I understand there are more than 60 lawyers and detectives with the special counsel,” he said in court. He advocated trying to allow volunteer lawyers and “advisors” to review the wealth of evidence. The judge shared his concerns that the language proposed by the defense was too broad.