Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked a federal judge to reimpose a gag order on Donald Trump and accused the former president of ‘publicly targeting’ potential witnesses despite repeated warnings from the bench.

Smith’s prosecutors cite Trump’s recent post about former White House Chief of staff Mark Meadows, calling it an attempt to ‘intimidate’ him, following a report that he had reached an immunity deal with prosecutors.

That came despite a gag order that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed, then suspended with a stay while the parties fight about it. 

‘In the few days since the administrative stay has been in place, the defendant has returned to the very sort of targeting that the Order prohibits, including attempting to intimidate and influence foreseeable witnesses, and commenting on the substance of their testimony,’ Smith’s team wrote in a filing Wednesday night.

Prosecutors cited a post by former President Donald Trump about his former White House chief of staff, accusing him of trying to ‘intimidate’ witnesses

In a post that prosecutors printed in their filing, Trump wrote Oct. 20th after the stunning report about Meadows, ‘Some people would make that deal, but they are weaklings and cowards, and so bad for the future our Failing Nation. I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them, but who really knows?’

Meadows’ lawyer George Terwilliger cast doubt on the report after it was published, calling it largely inaccurate. 

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Prosecutors first persuaded Chutkan to impose the gag order in order to protect witnesses and keep the D.C. jury pool from being tainted. IN their filing, they write unless the judge immediately reimposes it,  witnesses ‘could be influenced or deterred by the defendant’s documented pattern of targeting.” 

Judger Tanya Chutkan imposed a gag order to Trump, citing the risk to potential witnesses and the importance of avoiding tainting the jury pool in the January 6 case. Prosecutors want to get it reimposed after she put a pause on it

The filing comes after New York judge Arthur Engoron slapped a $10,000 fine on Trump for violating his own gag order, following comments Engoron said appeared aimed at his clerk. Judge Engoron said he would reconsider the fine after Trump’s lawyers complained.

Without intervention by the court, Smith’s team argued, ‘the defendant will continue to threaten the integrity of these proceedings and put trial participants at risk.’

They addressed Trump’s tactics of relying on social media, identifying perceived enemies by name, but then using vague language or asking questions, rather than giving outright instructions to his millions of followers.

By ‘publicly targeting perceived adversaries with inflammatory language, he can maintain a plausible deniability while ensuring the desired results,’ they write. 

Chutkan herself has been the recipient of threats while presiding over the case, where Trump is charged with a conspiracy to interfere with an official proceeding as part of his election overturn effort.