The Justice Department, under Joe Biden, is relentlessly attacking President Trump.
Breaking Digest previously reported that Jack Smith is preparing to indict Trump once again.
JUST IN—Jack Smith is now preparing NEW charges against Trump for raising money and investigating the security of voting machines. Add this to charges for challenging election results, for fielding alternate electors in case legal challenges were successful, and for keeping…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 6, 2023
Justice Department prosecutors, in a court filing on Tuesday, argued that Trump exercising his right to free speech by posting daily statements online defending himself against Biden’s weaponized DOJ poses a risk of prejudicing the jury pool in Jack Smith’s January 6 case against Trump in Washington, D.C.
President Trump’s legal team raised concerns about government prosecutors submitting a sealed motion without prior consultation. They requested a two-week briefing process to allow Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine whether court filings should be made public.
Smith’s legal team whined that providing a two-week window for Trump’s team to respond is unfair.
“Such a requirement would grind litigation in this case to a halt, which is particularly infeasible given the pressing matters before the Court — including the defendant’s daily extrajudicial statements that threaten to prejudice the jury pool in this case, as described in the Government’s motion,” prosecutors from Jack Smith’s team wrote.
“Going forward, all motions, including motions for leave to file, must (1) indicate whether the movant has conferred with opposing counsel, and (2) state the nonmovant’s position on the motion, if known,” Chutkan wrote. “As it has done here, the court may require briefing on motions for leave to file under seal on a timeline shorter than the default periods provided for in the Local Criminal Rules”
Trump’s legal team filed an emergency motion to vacate. Ultimately, Judge Chutkan sided with Trump, as reported by CNBC.
CNBC reported:
Earlier Tuesday, prosecutors from Smith’s office asked Chutkan to be allowed to file a motion in the case that would be sealed from public view.
The details of that motion are not known, but do contain “sensitive materials,” according to a subsequent court filing.
Trump’s lawyers later filed an emergency motion asking Chutkan to vacate the prosecutors’ motion, claiming that Smith’s office had not first asked the defense lawyers their opinion on that move, or “otherwise notify Defendant it would be filing the Motion for Leave.”
Defense lawyers also noted that Chutkan granted Smith’s motion without giving Trump the chance to respond, asking that she allow them “sufficient time to respond to every motion filed in this matter.”
Smith’s office fired back in another court filing.
Prosecutors wrote that they had in fact asked Trump’s lawyers for their position on the sealed motion and that they had informed Chutkan of that position.
The prosecutors also said the filing was consistent with the terms of a protective order previously issued by Chutkan, who told the parties to submit filings under seal if those documents include unredacted “Sensitive Materials.”
Smith, who President Trump claims has a track record of pursuing “political hit jobs” against politicians, encountered a setback in a case that marked the start of criminal proceedings against Trump for his post-2020 election statements. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Smith’s appeal to subpoena the phone records of a GOP congressman in relation to his investigation.
Legal experts have cited President Trump’s First Amendment right to issue protected statements regarding the 2020 election’s outcome, as well as his tweet urging January 6 protesters to go “peacefully.”
