Appearing on Fox News' The Kelly Files on Monday evening, Judge Andrew Napolitano gave a verbal slap to Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby for seeking a gag order against the six police officers arrested for the death of Freddie Gray.
"I was giving her the benefit of the doubt as you should give anybody the benefit of the doubt when they exercise the power of the government and they have to make a tough decision. But I am now beginning to think that she may be just a two-bit political hack who happens to have gotten elected as a prosecutor. And unlike a lot of people who leave politics and enter government, she still has the mind-set of a politician, and still believes she should use the levers of power to serve one group, not to serve the concept of justice."
Napolitano said those harsh words in reaction to Ms. Mosby's attempt to put a gag order for attorneys, police and witnesses from talking outside court about the case of Freddie Gray, arguing that statements by attorneys for some of the six police officers accused in Gray's death could prejudice the public. While Judge Napolitano objects to all gag orders on a first amendment basis, he especially objects to this one because of the May 1st press conference where Ms. Mosby went over her reasons and her interpretation of the actions of the six charged police officers. Her statements about the officer's were played and replayed by all local and national media.
"To suggest that the people she has prosecuted cannot criticize her and she can criticize them is something that would delight Vladimir Putin."
Host Megyn Kelly said the officer's attorneys want the Judge at the very least to delay any gag order until the prosecutor releases the evidence and they have the opportunity to rebut it in public as a way to even the score for Ms. Mosby's May 1st press conference.
In a joint statement issued Friday, the defense attorneys said it is "imperative that the public understand the facts and the law beyond the bald allegations publicized by Ms. Mosby." The charges, the attorneys said, "have yet to be supported by a single piece of evidence. We have made one simple repeated request: Show us the evidence."