Photos: Creative commons and Jerry Lampen for AFP
A former federal prosecutor says a reported historic rise in threats — and violence — against federal agents directly stems from the judge's decisions regarding requests to gag former President Donald Trump in his criminal classified documents case.
A collection of Republican states came to Judge Aileen Cannon demanding special counsel Jack Smith's request for the gag order be rejected so that Trump can take aim at FBI agents involved in the Mar-a-Lago raid. The request was made after Trump claimed FBI agents had been given permission to use deadly force against him.
The claim has been discredited by experts including Attorney General Merrick Garland who said Trump was exploiting routine language used in search warrants.
ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why Judge Cannon must step away from Trump trial immediately
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace claimed there has been a historic increase in threats and violence against FBI agents and Justice Department officials.
Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman said Cannon has contributed to that, saying Cannon should not have allowed it.
"If you're telling people when federal agents come in to search your house they're coming to shoot you, well, that's exactly what causes, you know, tragedies in searches," cautioned Litman. "But all that Jack Smith has asked for, in a way, this would be no story if it wasn't in front of Judge Cannon."
He said that what Smith and prosecutors had done in the search was "so routine, so cut and dried" that no other judge would allow Trump's lawyer to make such claims.
"This could result in significant, imminent and foreseeable danger," Litman cautioned."
See his full comments in the video below or at the link here.
Ex-prosecutor blames Judge Cannon for FBI becoming targets of the right-wing www.youtube.com
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