(PatriotNewsDaily.com) – U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan who is overseeing the case related to former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, widely sided with Trump’s legal team on the protective order regarding the handling of evidence in this case. However, she did grant prosecutors a win by stating that the types of material considered “sensitive” should be expanded and protected.
On Friday morning, Trump’s lawyers appeared in the Washington, D.C., federal court for the first hearing before Chutkan. The judge heard arguments from both sides on why the evidence, in this case, needed to be restricted. While prosecutors have claimed that it was necessary for “sensitive” materials to receive a broader definition so that the witness testimonies and transcripts could be protected, Trump’s legal team argued that such a move would violate Trump’s First Amendment rights.
Chutkan argued in a “closed” decision” that she had not been convinced by the federal prosecutors’ attempts to show that all of the information, in this case, should be under a protective order. Instead she claimed that only “sensitive” information should be protected. However, she did agree that the individuals protected by prosecutors should be protected as they could potentially be witnesses in this case.
Chutkan stated that while there is the right to free speech, it is not an absolute right and that the protective order is necessary so that neither party can release information to the jury pool.
Federal prosecutor Thomas Windom also argued that the restrictions were important as they would help block the “improper dissemination” of evidence and material.
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