Trump is fighting the January 6 release of Jack Smith’s new case evidence

Topline

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers believe special counsel Jack Smith wants to disclose too much evidence in the ex-president’s criminal case for trying to overturn the 2020 election and are rejecting a planned filing in which prosecutors’ charges against Trump and which will soon be published publicly.

Important facts

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Cons

In a motion asking him to file both unredacted and redacted versions of the document with the court, Smith suggested that the government’s redactions would not identify witnesses, as Trump’s lawyers claim. He told the court that prosecutors redacted any names of witnesses not already published in the indictment, even when they cited public information such as tweets. Smith noted that releasing witnesses’ names “could result in identified witnesses being intimidated and threatened,” and said the government’s proposed redactions “mitigate that risk while providing the public with the evidence and arguments in support of their testimony.” make the application essentially accessible”.

What you should pay attention to

What new information might be released before Election Day? Chutkan must now decide which editorials will be accepted, and it is unclear when that decision will be announced. The judge also ordered Trump’s lawyers to respond by Oct. 10 to the proposed redactions attached to Smith’s file — which would include full transcripts of things like witness interviews, while the main document contains only excerpts — but it’s possible that she Could simply release the first part of the submission without any attachments. Smith said the file, including the appendix, is expected to be about 180 pages long and will include information from sources such as grand jury transcripts and witness interviews.

What we don’t know

How long will it take until the federal election trial against Trump is completed? Chutkan must decide which allegations against Trump are still valid in light of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling before the case can be sent to trial, since the Supreme Court has ruled that ex-presidents only enjoy immunity from allegations based on their “official.” Acts” can still be charged based on “unofficial” conduct, but was vague about what falls into that “unofficial” area in the indictment. There is no timetable yet for how quickly Chutkan might rule, although the earliest it will be is October 29, when the final filing on the matter is due. Whenever she decides, Trump will likely appeal and try to get a higher court to dismiss the case entirely. That means the case could go back to the Supreme Court a second time and drag on even further before it goes to trial. If Trump wins the election, it is likely that the litigation will be dropped altogether because he can appoint Justice Department officials to drop charges against him.

Important background

Trump is charged with four federal crimes in the election case. This is one of four criminal proceedings that have been initiated against the ex-president so far. The indictment accuses Trump of conspiracy to commit fraud, obstruction and anti-rights conspiracy in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and points to his efforts to pressure state lawmakers and officials to reject the election results and preventing Congress from authorizing the vote count on January 30. 6, including by pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify the results and by orchestrating a “fake voter” scheme in which state GOP officials submitted false voter rolls to Congress. The case was reopened in August after being put on hold for months while the Supreme Court considered the immunity question and indefinitely postponed a scheduled trial date in March. The lawsuit is one of several criminal cases against Trump that the ex-president successfully avoided being tried before the election, and although he was on trial in Manhattan – where he was convicted of 34 felonies – his verdict was announced will not take place until after election day.

Further reading

ForbesJack Smith has submitted new evidence in the Trump federal election case – for this reason it is still not publicFrom Alison Durkee
ForbesTrump still faces those crimes in the Jan. 6 DOJ case — and all could include prison timeFrom Alison Durkee