Prosecutors in one of former president Donald Trump myriad of of forthcoming trials1 complained to the judge Saturday that he must be restrained from posting threatening remarks on social media, following a Friday afternoon Truth Social rant culminating in "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!" Trump says that it's constitutionally-protected speech; the judge will reportedly decide Monday whether to shut him up and to what extent.
In their filing, the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith said the post raised concerns that Mr Trump could publicly reveal secret material, including grand jury transcripts obtained from prosecutors.
Noting that Mr Trump has a history of attacking judges, attorneys and witnesses against him, Mr Smith's office warned that his behaviour could have "a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case".
The Republican has already hit out against the special counsel, telling a crowd of supporters in Alabama on Friday that Mr Smith was a "deranged human being" and "a bad guy".
The filing added that Friday's post "specifically or by implication" referred to those involved in the criminal case against him.
Prosecutors also claim to be worried he'll leak discovery materials during trial in an attempt to influence its outcome.
1. There are five: Hush money to his mistress during the 2016 presidential campaign; taking and refusing to return classified documents after his term in office; election interference; fraud in New York; and E. Jean Carroll's extended defamation case in the same state. He was already found liable for sexually assaulting her and defaming her in her first lawsuit against him.
