Special counsel Jack Smith is trying to prevent President Trump from making “political attacks” about his federal 2020 election subversion criminal prosecution at trial.
On Wednesday, he urged a judge to prohibit Trump from claiming to jurors he is being selectively prosecuted and introducing certain other evidence.
Special counsel Jack Smith seeks to block Trump from making 'political attacks' during trial https://t.co/FnGshHN8at
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 27, 2023
From Fox News:
Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed another motion with the district court, which seeks to tamp down what former President Donald Trump’s legal team can tell a jury in his federal trial currently scheduled for March.
The motion, filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is seeking to limit what statements Trump can make leading up to his scheduled March 4 federal trial on alleged 2020 election interference.
That includes a request to prevent Trump from telling the jury he is being prosecuted by the DOJ in coordination with President Biden, as well as suggestions by Trump of undercover agents fomenting violence at the Capitol riots, and of “foreign influence” in the 2020 election.
“Through public statements, filings, and argument in hearings before the Court, the defense has attempted to inject into this case partisan political attacks and irrelevant and prejudicial issues that have no place in a jury trial,” Smith’s team told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
“Although the Court can recognize these efforts for what they are and disregard them, the jury – if subjected to them – may not. The Court should not permit the defendant to turn the courtroom into a forum in which he propagates irrelevant disinformation, and should reject his attempt to inject politics into this proceeding. To ensure that the jury remains focused on its fact-finding duty and applies the law as instructed by the Court, the defendant’s improper evidence and argument should be excluded.”
The filing claims that “through his groundless demand for discovery of evidence regarding ‘investigative misconduct,’” Trump “has suggested that he intends to impeach the integrity of the investigation by raising wholly false claims such as the Government’s non-existent ‘coordination with the Biden Administration’ and other empty allegations recycled from the selective and vindictive prosecution motion that he based on anonymous sources in newspaper articles.”
“Although the defendant is entitled to cross-examine the Government’s law enforcement witnesses about matters fairly within the scope of their direct testimony, he cannot raise wholly irrelevant topics in an effort to confuse and distract the jury. Much as the defendant would like it otherwise, this trial should be about the facts and the law, not politics.”
As expected, a lot of Trump supporters weren’t happy with Smith’s latest move.
Congressman Ronny Jackson said Smith was doing everything he could to weaponize the Justice Department.
Jack Smith is doing EVERYTHING he can to weaponize our Department of “Justice” against President Trump. He’s DESPERATE to rush the trial so it’s smack dab in the middle of an election. Trump will WIN and he will be BACK in the White House!!
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) December 27, 2023
Delaware Republican Party Chairwoman Julianne Murray also slammed Smith, saying Trump can say whatever he likes when he is on the witness stand.
"If Trump wants to get on the stand…and he wants to say that this is vindictiveness or whatever he wants to, he ought to be able to do that."
Julianne Murray slams Jack Smith for filing a motion against Trump testifying about Biden. @Murray4DE @BiancaDLGarza pic.twitter.com/Gyv8mw0OXl
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) December 27, 2023
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