Judge Chutkan Hands Jack Smith a Win in Case Against Donald Trump

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has signed off on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request to file an oversized opening brief regarding immunity issues as the federal election subversion case against Former President Donald Trump presses forward.
Smith’s office alerted the court over the weekend that it was seeking to file a nearly 200-page brief regarding how the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding presidential immunity impacts the charges against Trump, who is facing four felony counts related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s defense team argued in a motion on Monday that the “fundamentally unfair” request from Smith should be shot down by Chutkan, in part because the brief’s page count is over four times what opening briefs are usually confined to before the District of Columbia court system.
But Chuktan wrote in her order a day later that the court would grant Smith’s request “to file an oversized brief” and shot down the defense’s arguments about the legality of the briefing, including claims that prosecutors were seeking “to proffer their untested and biased views to the Court and the public as if they are conclusive.”
“Allowing a brief from the Government is not ‘contrary to law procedure, and custom,’ as Defendant claims…it is simply how litigation works,” read Chutkan’s order in part.
The judge also pushed back on the defense team’s argument that filing the brief–which will lay out new pieces of evidence against Trump–could influence “potential witnesses and taint the jury pool” if made public.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The deadline for Smith to file his brief is Thursday, and prosecutors have said it will include “additional unpled categories of evidence that the Government intends to introduce at trial.” The briefing comes after the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling in July that found that Trump is protected from facing criminal charges for actions he took under his official duties as president.
Prosecutors responded to the ruling by filing a superseding indictment that highlights Trump’s actions as a candidate–not as president–in the aftermath of the 2020 election, including leading up to the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in the case and has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors are seeking to interfere in his reelection chances. The case will not head to trial before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election on November 5.
Update 09/24/24, 3:54 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.