. >>> SO THERE'S SOME BREAKING NEWS TONIGHT IN THE LATEST FEDERAL CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP. WE KNEW WE WERE GOING TO GET SOMETHING IN THAT CASE THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING. WE DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE GOING TO GET THIS OTHER THING. HERE'S THE SITUATION. LET ME EXPLAIN IT IN LAYMAN'S TERMS AS I NOT A LAWYER UNDERSTAND THEM. ON FRIDAY NIGHT, SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH ASKED THE JUDGE IN THIS CASE FOR A PROTECTIVE ORDER. WHICH BASICALLY MEANS WHEN THE GOVERNMENT HANDS EVIDENCE OVER TO TRUMP'S DEFENSE TEAM FOR USE IN THE TRIAL, THE JUDGE SHOULD ORDER TRUMP AND HIS LAWYERS TO NOT RELEASE ANY OF THAT EVIDENT PUBLICLY. IN MAKING THAT REQUEST, JACK SMITH'S TEAM POINTED THE JUDGE TO THIS SOCIAL MEDIA POST FROM TRUMP LAST WEEK, IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU. BY PUTTING THIS IN THEIR FILING REQUESTING THE PROTECTIVE ORDER, THEY WERE BASICALLY ALERTING THE JUDGE TO THE PRESENCE OF THIS POSTING. THE IMPLICATION WAS, HEY, IF THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THIS GUY IS SAYING PUBLICLY AT THIS STAGE, THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT ELSE HE WOULD POST WHEN WE GIVE HIM STUFF THAT'S REALLY SENSITIVE. SO ON FRIDAY, PROSECUTORS ASKED THE JUDGE FOR THIS PROTECTIVE ORDER. THEY CITED THAT TROUBLING POSTING BY TRUMP. TODAY, THIS AFTERNOON, WE KNEW THAT TRUMP'S DEFENSE TEAM HAD TO FILE ITS REPLY. THEY DID. ALMOST AS IF THEY WERE CONFIRMING THE CONTENTIONS FROM THE PROSECUTORS IN THEIR FILING WITH THE JUDGE, THEY TOOK THIS PROPOSED PROTECTIVE ORDER, THE THINGS THAT PROSECUTORS SAID TRUMP AND HIS TEAM SHOULD BE BARRED FROM RELEASING TO THE PUBLIC, AND THEY SAID THAT A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF SHOULD BE CROSSED OFF THAT LIST. THEY SPECIFIED RECORDINGS, TRANSCRIPTS, INTERVIEW REPORTS, RELATED EXHIBITS OF WITNESS INTERVIEWS, TRUMP'S TEAM SAID TONIGHT, WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO DO WHATEVER WE WANT WITH ALL THAT STUFF, INCLUDING MAKING ALL THAT STUFF AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. SO THAT FILING FROM TRUMP'S TEAM SAYING NO, NO PROTECTIVE ORDER IS NECESSARY, YOU SHOULD MUCH MORE NARROWLY TAILOR IT. THAT WAS THE FILING WE WERE EXPECTING TONIGHT FROM TRUMP'S TEAM. WHAT WE DIDN'T EXPECT WAS FOR JACK SMITH'S PROSECUTORS TO COME BACK WITHIN JUST A COUPLE HOURS WITH A BIG HARD NOSED RESPONSE, PUSHING BACK HARD ON TRUMP'S PROPOSAL. THIS IS FROM THE NEW FILING FROM PROSECUTORS THAT CAME IN JUST WITHIN THE LAST HOUR. QUOTE, THE DEFENDANT, TRUMP, PROPOSED AN ORDER DESIGNED TO ALLOW HIM TO TRY THIS CASE IN THE MEDIA RATHER THAN IN THE COURTROOM. THE DEFENDANT'S PRINCIPAL OBJECTION IS IT WOULD NOT PERMIT HIM TO PUBLICIZE IN THE MEDIA VARIOUS MATERIALS OBTAINED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN DISCOVERY. THEY ALSO SAY THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE TRUMP IS NOT ALLOWED TO WRITE DOWN ANY PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION SUCH AS ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS OF WITNESSES. THEY SAY THAT QUOTE IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT HERE BECAUSE OF THE DEFENDANT AND HIS COCONSPIRATORS' PRACTICE AS DESCRIBED IN THE INDICTMENT OF PUBLICLY TARGETING INDIVIDUALS. IN THEIR FILING, JACK SMITH'S PROSECUTORS URGE THE JUDGE TO IMPLEMENT THE PROTECTIVE ORDER THAT THEY PROPOSED IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD WITNESS PRIVACY AND THE INTEGRITY OF THESE PROCEEDINGS. IN OTHER WORDS, HEY JUDGE, YOU KNOW WHAT THIS GUY IS LIKE. YOU KNOW HE HAS A HABIT OF PUBLICLY TARGETING WITNESSES AGAINST HIM, AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO GOES UP AGAINST HIM. NOW HE'S SAYING HE WANTS TO BE ABLE TO PUBLICIZE EVIDENCE AND THINGS ABOUT WITNESSES THAT WE GIVE HIM AS PART OF THIS TRIAL. DON'T LET HIM DO THAT. AGAIN, PROTECTIVE ORDER WAS REQUESTED ON FRIDAY. TRUMP'S DEFENSE TEAM HAD TO FILE ITS RESPONSE BY 5:00 TODAY. THEY DID SO RIGHT BEFORE 5:00. THEN JACK SMITH'S PROSECUTORS CAME BACK JUST A COUPLE HOURS AFTER TRUMP'S TEAM HANDED IN THEIR FILING. WHEN PROSECUTORS SAY THEY WANT THESE PROCEEDINGS TO GO SPEEDILY, THIS IS WHAT THEY MEAN. THEY'RE APPARENTLY NOT KIDDING AROUND. AND THE JUDGE APPEARS TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE BECAUSE JUST IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES, OH, WAIT, THERE'S MORE. JUST IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES, THE JUDGE HAS ORDERED A HEARING ON THE ISSUE OF THIS PROTECTIVE ORDER TO TAKE PLACE NO LATER THAN THIS FRIDAY, AGAIN, THIS MINUTE ORDER FROM JUDGE CHUTKAN JUST HANDED DOWN SAYING NO DAWDLING, PEOPLE, WE'RE GOING
