The Senate staffer charged with lying to the FBI filed a motion on Tuesday to prevent those involved with his case, including President Trump, from publicly speaking about it, CNN reported.
James Wolfe, the former security director for the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that comments made by Trump and senior Justice Department officials have threatened his right to a fair trial.
Wolfe wants “to prevent the most visible and powerful representatives of the party seeking to convict him of serious crimes from making public statements that jeopardize his right to an impartial jury,” his attorneys said, according to CNN.
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Last week, Trump said, “It’s very interesting that they caught a leaker … it’s a very important leaker.”
Assistant Attorney General John Demers also said in a statement that “doubly troubling as the false statements concern the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive and confidential information.”
In their motion, Wolfe’s attorneys cited the two statements while noting that Wolfe has not been charged with leaking classified information, CNN reported.
Wolfe has been charged with giving the FBI false statements over leaking confidential information about the committee to reporters.
“It does not matter that the President is not himself a lawyer, or that he and other senior officials and supervisors are not physical or formally appearing in court on behalf of the government,” the attorneys wrote in the motion, according to CNN.
“They have inserted themselves into this case either as part of the government ‘party’ or as counsel to the government, and they present a significant, proven threat to Mr. Wolfe’s right to a fair trial. As the head of the Executive Branch, the President is ultimately responsible for all powers wielded by that Branch, including prosecutorial powers,” the attorneys added.
On Tuesday, Wolfe appeared in court for a brief status conference.