The judge in the case of former US President Donald Trump for his actions during the 2020 election, Tanya Chutkan, warned on Friday that she would not allow the trial to take place in a “carnival atmosphere”, according to AFP.

In a hearing on a request by special prosecutor Jack Smith, who is concerned about possible witness intimidation if Donald Trump illegally leaks key documents in the case, the magistrate also set the boundaries within which the former president would be authorized to comment publicly on the case.

Despite the highly political nature of the case, in which the former president, who is fighting to retake the White House, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges in an attempt to overturn the vote, the judge said she wanted to keep the proceedings as normal as possible.

“I will not consider in my decision the impact this may have on the 2024 presidential campaign,” she warned in response to defense attorney John Lauro’s objections to prosecutors’ questions. First of all, she stated her concern for the “proper administration of justice.”

As to the scope of the authorized comments, she agreed with the defense, which asked that the restrictions in its order apply only to the “sensitive elements” of the case.

Trump’s access to documents

The problem of Donald Trump’s access to “sensitive” documents outside the presence of his lawyers caused a spat between one of the prosecutors, Thomas Windom, and John Lauro.

The defendant “has already demonstrated a propensity to keep documents he shouldn’t have,” Windom joked, justifying the need to regulate such access.

He was referring to another case in which a Florida (southeast) court will try a former president in 2024 for keeping classified documents after he left the White House instead of turning them over to the National Archives.

Donald Trump’s lawyer protested that he had never seen “lawyers being forced to sit next to their client to babysit” in cases like this.

Judge Chutkan ruled in favor of a “compromise” solution, allowing the former president to view the “sensitive items” without the supervision of his lawyers, but without any electronic or other device capable of photographing or reproducing them.

His lawyers also had to ensure that his notes did not contain information that could identify the person listed in the file.

In closing, the judge cautioned against any “inflammatory statements that could taint jury selection,” which could only prompt her to set an earlier trial date.

Jack Smith, who is calling for a “trial without delay”, proposed on January 2, saying it “should not take more than four to six weeks”.

The defense has until August 17 to formulate its own proposal regarding the schedule for a new hearing on the matter before the judge on August 28.