Judge denies Trump's request to hold Jack Smith in contempt in federal 2020 election case
The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference against Donald Trump has rejected his lawyers’ bid to hold special counsel Jack Smith’s team in contempt for actions prosecutors took after the judge put the case on hold
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump on Thursday rejected his lawyers' bid to hold special counsel Jack Smith's team in contempt for actions prosecutors took after the judge put the case on hold. But the judge said no further “substantive” court filings should be submitted without permission.
The former president's lawyers had accused prosecutors of “outrageous conduct” for turning over to the defense thousands of pages of evidence and filing a motion after the judge paused the case while Trump appeals his presidential immunity claim. The defense said prosecutors were violating a court order that put the case on hold so Trump can pursue his claim in higher courts.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said in her ruling Thursday that her Dec. 13 order pausing the case did not “clearly and unambiguously” prohibit those actions by Smith’s team. However, she agreed with Trump to bar all parties in the case from filing “any further substantive pretrial motions” without first seeking permission from the court until the pause is lifted.
At issue was the order from Chutkan after Trump appealed to a higher court an earlier ruling that rejected his claims that he is immune from prosecution. In her order, Chutkan, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, said that Trump’s appeal “automatically stays any further proceedings that would move this case towards trial or impose additional burdens of litigation” on Trump.
