U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya has issued an order prohibiting former President Donald Trump from talking to anyone whom he knows is a witness in the case against him for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
In a document which Mr. Trump signed during his Aug. 3 arraignment in Washington—just blocks from the U.S. Capitol, which a mob of his supporters stormed on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory as president—prosecutors state that it is unlawful to “obstruct a criminal investigation; tamper with a witness, victim, juror, informant, or officer of the court. The penalties for tampering, retaliation or intimidation are significantly more serious if they involve a killing or attempted killing.”
Such tampering can result in a maximum sentence of a decade behind bars and/or a $250,000 fine.
Since his arraignment, Mr. Trump has sharply criticized those tied to his latest indictment, which a grand jury handed down on Aug. 1. Whether these statements violate the ban on witness tampering is uncertain, but these statements could be used by critics to ascertain that Mr. Trump has violated the conditions of his release while awaiting trial.
This included statements he posted on his social media site, Truth Social, on Aug. 6.
“THERE IS NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL WITH THE JUDGE ‘ASSIGNED’ TO THE RIDICULOUS FREEDOM OF SPEECH/FAIR ELECTIONS CASE. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS, AND SO DOES SHE! WE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ASKING FOR RECUSAL OF THIS JUDGE ON VERY POWERFUL GROUNDS, AND LIKEWISE FOR VENUE CHANGE, OUT IF [sic] D.C.,” posted Mr. Trump.
The judge assigned to the case is Tanya Chutkan, who is on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She has been known to be tough on Jan. 6 defendants, even going further than prosecutors have recommended in sentencing. She once said about Mr. Trump that “presidents are not kings.”
In another post, Mr. Trump wrote about special counsel Jack Smith, who has been investigating Mr. Trump in the Jan. 6 and Mar-a-Lago classified documents cases.
“DERANGED JACK SMITH AND OUR HIGHLY PARTISAN, AND VERY CORRUPT, DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE, COULD HAVE BROUGHT THIS BIDIN [sic] ‘OPPONENT’ CASE YEARS AGO, BUT CHOSE TO WAIT AND BRING IT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF MY ELECTION CAMPAIGN. NO WAY!!! I HOPE YOU ARE WATCHING AMERICA. OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he posted.
Mr. Smith was in the courtroom when Mr. Trump was arraigned in both the Jan. 6 and Mar-a-Lago documents cases. Mr. Smith stared at Mr. Trump in both arraignments.
“NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL, OR EVEN CLOSE TO A FAIR TRIAL, IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “THERE ARE MANY REASONS FOR THIS, BUT JUST ONE IS THAT I AM CALLING FOR A FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF THIS FILTHY AND CRIME RIDDEN EMBARRASSMENT TO OUR NATION, WHERE MURDERS HAVE JUST SHATTERED THE ALL TIME RECORD, OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES HAVE NEVER NEEN [sic] WORSE, AND TOURISTS HAVE FLED. THE FEDERAL TAKEOVER IS VERY UNPOPULAR WITH POTENTIAL AREA JURORS, BUT NECESSARY FOR SAFETY, GREATNESS, & FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE!”
