Washington— The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election case against former President Donald Trump largely rejected on Wednesday prosecutors’ request to seek and turn over other information that the former president believes will support his defense and show his state of mind as he challenges the outcome of the trial. the last presidential contest.
The 50-page order from US District Judge Tanya Chutkan came in response to Trump’s request to compel special counsel Jack Smith and his team to search nine government entities for 14 categories of information and hand over the evidence to the legal team.
But after reviewing the tranches of material sought by Trump, Chutkan found that prosecutors had to conduct searches of only three types of information and produce what they found. The batch includes:
- Materials of the director of National Intelligence were reviewed prior to the interview with the special advisory team;
- Notes on security measures discussed by Trump during a meeting with former Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley the day before the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021;
- Evidence related to the federal investigation into Vice President Mike Pence’s handling of secret tapes after he left office.
A small number of documents are marked as classified found in Pence’s Indiana home in January 2023 and turned it over to the FBI. The Justice Department is investigating the potential mishandling of sensitive information and the FBI conduct a consensual search from home. The prosecutor finally declined to pursue charges.
Chutkan noted that prosecutors may have sought the information Trump sought, or may not have had it under his control. Smith and his team have until October 26 to provide the former president’s legal team with any material found during the search.
What Trump wants
The judge said the former president failed to meet his burden regarding most of the material sought and “merely speculates that the search will yield material, non-cumulative information.”
Among the evidence Trump could not impeach was information about an alleged secret agent at the Capitol on January 6. Chutkan said the former president “offered nothing more than speculation that there was an undercover actor” at the Capitol when Trump supporters broke the rules. building.
The former president also demanded information related to foreign interference in the 2020 election, which the judge did not require prosecutors to seek or produce.
“Whether (Trump) seeks to undermine public confidence in the election to give legitimacy or further criminal conspiracy does not depend on whether other countries are also trying to achieve the same result for their own purposes,” Chutkan wrote. “Thus, additional information about foreign actors’ attempts to mislead or inflame the public will not disprove (Trump’s) criminal conduct.”
Trump initially asked Chutkan to force prosecutors to search and turn over more categories of evidence in November 2023, which he claimed he failed to search for and produce. But the process in this case paused in December when he appealed the decision finding that he was not shielded from criminal charges by presidential immunity.
Case taken back in August after the Supreme Court ruled against Trump have some immunity of prosecution for official actions taken while in the White House, and ordered the district court to examine whether other former presidents alleged actions can give up for charges.
A federal grand jury return superseding indictment at the end of August who charged Trump with the four counts they first faced, and pleaded not guilty. The new indictment, however, accelerates the charges against the former president as prosecutors seek to ensure they comply with the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
Both sides are now debating in court filings whether their actions under the indictment are protected by presidential immunity, which will ultimately be decided by Chutkan. Trump’s lawyers have said they will seek to have the case dismissed based on presidential immunity and other grounds.
Last month, Chutkan allow the public to see key legal summary of Smith who defended the indictment slimmed down and gave the most comprehensive look at the prosecutor’s case against Trump. The special counsel argued in the filing, which the Trump team sought to keep sealed, that the actions were taken as office-seekers and not office-holders and therefore not covered by immunity.
Trump has until November 7, two days after the election, to respond to prosecutors’ arguments.
