Trump may use court documents to sear witnesses, DA says

new york The prosecutor asked the judge for a ban donald trump From using evidence in his criminal case to attack witnesses.

of manhattan The District Attorney’s Office on Monday submitted court documents to Judge Juan Manuel Marchan seeking a protective order that would place strict guardrails on Trump’s access to and use of evidence presented by prosecutors before his trial. This type of evidence sharing, called discovery, is routine in criminal cases and is intended to ensure a fair trial.

Prosecutors want to stop Trump from posting evidence on social media or providing it to third parties. They also want to restrict how he can view certain confidential materials, asking that they view them only in the presence of a lawyer and that they cannot copy, photograph, or transcribe those records.

Trump “has a long and perhaps idiosyncratic history of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, trial juries, grand juries, judges, and others involved in legal proceedings against him. wrote Assistant District Attorney Catherine McCaw.

The actions “expose these individuals and their families to considerable safety risks,” she said.

Merchan did not immediately rule on the prosecution’s request. In his filing, McCaw asked him to schedule a hearing on the matter next week.

An email message seeking comment was left with Trump’s attorneys.

Prosecutors say Trump falsified records at his company as part of a wider plan to pay secret hush money to cover up extramarital sex allegations made in 2016. The charge first expressed concern at its April 4 arraignment that it could weaponize the discovery process.

With Trump sitting at the defense table just feet away from her, McCaw told Marchan that a protective order was needed to “guarantee the sanctity of the case and the sanctity of the discovery material.”

At the time, McCaw said prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers were nearing a joint agreement with many of the restrictions prosecutors are now seeking to impose on Marchan. requested the intervention of a judge.