The federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against Donald Trump agreed with the defense on a looser version of a protective order for evidence in the case, but she largely sided with the prosecution on what sensitive materials should be protected as she vowed to keep politics out of her rulings.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington on Friday repeatedly said that Trump was subject to the court’s rules as a defendant before trial even though he is also running for president at the same time. She warned that she would not let political considerations affect her rulings.
“Your client’s defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet,” Chutkan said.
Chutkan rejected prosecutors’ broader protective order proposal that sought to prevent the public airing of all evidence they hand over to Trump’s defense as they prepare for trial. She instead seemed poised to impose a more limited protective order that would bar the public release only of materials deemed “sensitive,” such as grand jury materials.
She did, however, block other defense requests to broaden the scope of who can see discovery and what should be considered sensitive.
The government considers the vast majority of evidence in the case to be sensitive. The judge sided with the prosecution on what materials are considered sensitive and therefore protected under the order.
When prosecutors proposed the protective order, it became an early flashpoint in the case. The prosecutors called the judge’s attention to a post on Trump’s social media platform in which he said he would be “coming after” those who “go after” him.
They warned Trump could improperly share sensitive information online that could have a “harmful chilling effect on witnesses.” They accused Trump of objecting to their proposal because he wants to be able to use the government’s evidence to…
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