Trump tells judge to redact details of January 6 incident

Donald Trump’s lawyers claim in a court filing Tuesday that special counsel Jack Smith is trying to wrest control from the defense team and push them further to present evidence in Smith’s briefing on the former president’s election overturn case related to Jan. 1. They criticized it for requiring a lot of editing. June 6, 2021, rebellion.

Trump’s lawyers argued that Smith’s briefing was “politically motivated” and could influence the outcome of the November presidential election, in which Trump seeks to reclaim the White House.

“The (special counsel’s) office wants to release politically motivated declarations, contrary to the Justice Department manual and long-standing Justice Department norms, in cases unrelated to President Trump in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election, and early voting has already begun across the United States. . Trump attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche wrote the seven-page motion.

“According to the Office, accusing President Trump of seeking to ‘litigate this case in the media’ and ‘inappropriately report his case in the court of public opinion’ … the Office is attempting to do just that. The very restrictions they had previously argued were essential to the ‘fair administration of justice.’”

The Justice Department generally follows a long-standing norm of not taking any drastic action that could affect an election within 60 days, rather than a policy or formal rule in the manual.

President Trump has accused Smith of election interference since he was first indicted in the case. Federal prosecutors withdrew that claim, noting that his first indictment occurred more than a year ago.

But with time running out, Trump said in a recently unsealed indictment by the Supreme Court that he wants a Washington, D.C., court to force Smith to remove “all references to the titles and positions of witnesses not specifically named.” President’s decision to be exempt from criminal prosecution.

Last week, Smith filed a closed brief, presenting evidence that prosecutors say they can use in their election overturn case even after the immunity ruling.

Smith’s briefing could include a significant amount of evidence or other sensitive details, including witness information and testimony about key elements supporting the charges facing Trump. His superseding indictment omits details and statements about Trump’s alleged conduct in the Oval Office on January 6, 2021. It included accounts from key advisers and officials about what happened during the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

President Trump also wanted the court to require the Justice Department to explain to Smith why releasing the witness statements was consistent with the risks to witness safety, potential juror contamination, and the integrity of the proceedings previously cited by this and Southern courts . Florida area.”

As HuffPost previously reported, the briefing will likely be made public before the November election, but the decision will rest with U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. Trump’s lawyers have previously resisted attempts to uncover evidence from pre-election cases, but Chutkan has often said the court’s schedule will not be determined by Trump’s White House campaign.

Whatever Chutkan decides, it’s almost certain that Trump’s legal team will appeal the matter to the Supreme Court.