Attorney General Morrisey, Multistate Coalition Urge Judge to Deny Prosecutor Bid for Trump Gag Order in Classified Documents Case

CHARLESTON, WV (WVDN) — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is co-leading a coalition of 24 states in urging a federal court to reject special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a gag order in former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case.

The coalition, co-led by Iowa and Florida, wrote in the amicus brief that “For several reasons, the United States’ request is unjustified.”

“This is not just about President Trump saying what he wants to say; it’s about protecting our constitutional right to free speech,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “It’s obvious the other side is stopping at nothing to silence Biden’s political opponent, who is on track to be the next President of the United States.”

“President Trump is being gagged from discussing matters of importance with his constituents—and they are being prohibited from learning from those conversations about how President Trump proposes to lead,” the coalition wrote in the brief. “But in the end, a government may not ‘censor what the people hear as they undertake to decide for themselves which candidate is most likely to be an exemplary … officer.’”

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming joined the West Virginia-, Iowa- and Florida-led brief filed in the United States District Court Southern District of Florida West Palm Beach Division.

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