Staff Reports
In a recent development regarding the election interference case against former President Donald Trump, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan partially sided with Trump by placing limitations on special counsel Jack Smith. Trump’s attorneys had filed a motion requesting the court to hold Smith in contempt for continuing to make filings in the case despite a stay order issued by Judge Chutkan in December. Trump has also appealed to the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals to determine if presidential immunity is applicable to the charges brought against him by Smith.
DC Judge Sides with Trump, Reins In Jack Smith via @WestJournalism https://t.co/SaI0tC8rdX
— Nancy Crebs (@CrebsNancy) January 19, 2024
Smith had attempted to seek the intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court to expedite the appeal, but his request was denied. As per the normal process, the review will proceed in the appeals court. Despite the stay order, Smith’s office served Trump with 4,000 pages of “additional discovery,” including hundreds of video and audio recordings. In response, Trump’s attorneys requested that all of Smith’s discovery requests be withdrawn, and that prosecutors be required to obtain permission from the court before submitting any further filings in order to avoid violating the stay order.
In her order, Judge Chutkan supported Trump’s arguments and agreed that defense counsel would have to conduct a preliminary review of each substantive motion filed by the government. She stated that the court would adopt the defendant’s recommendation to prevent any further substantive pretrial motions from being filed without seeking permission from the court first. However, Judge Chutkan did not hold Smith’s prosecutors in contempt as the time-limited nature of the stay order did not clearly prohibit their actions. She clarified that staying a deadline does not equate to an affirmative prohibition.
In response to Judge Chutkan’s ruling, Trump’s spokesman denounced Smith’s behavior, accusing him and President Joe Biden of playing games with the court docket and making political and inflammatory statements against Trump. He further emphasized that no prosecutor is above the law.
