Federal Judge Aileen Cannon has turned down a gag order for ex-president Donald Trump as raised by special counsel Jack Smith in a classified documents case against the Republican candidate.
Judge Cannon in the case on Tuesday said the prosecutor’s effort to bestow with the defendant was “wholly lacking in substance and professional courtesy,” as reported by CNN.
The Judge criticized the prosecutors for not obeying the court injunction after failing to meaningfully confer with Trump’s lawyer about making the gag order against the former president without proper consultation with his lawyers.
Judge Cannon says the motion by the Counsel did not go in tandem with the basic requirements before filing for it, saying it is due to be denied without prejudice.
“It should go without saying the meaningful conferral is not a perfunctory exercise”, Judge Cannon wrote.
The Judge also stressed that the prosecutors could file another gag order against the Republican candidate should they give Trump’s lawyers the needed time to read the filing and discuss it with the prosecutors before further action.