In a legal battle that could significantly impact the 2024 election, former President Donald Trump is pushing back against efforts to release new evidence in his federal election interference case. On Tuesday, Trump’s attorneys filed a seven-page objection in response to special counsel Jack Smith’s attempt to make a 180-page document public, which may contain crucial new evidence.
According to court records, the document could include witness statements, grand jury interview transcripts, and FBI notes, potentially featuring testimony from key figures like Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump. Smith’s request to release a redacted version of the document was based on the “significant public interest” in the case, particularly given its relevance to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
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Trump’s legal team, however, argued that the timing of the release is politically motivated. “The true motivation driving the efforts by the Special Counsel’s Office to disseminate witness statements that they previously sought to lock down is as obvious as it is inappropriate,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in their response. They contended that the release of such information, just as early voting for the 2024 presidential election begins, would be unfairly damaging to Trump’s campaign.
This response follows Smith’s earlier nine-page filing, which supported publishing the document and came after he submitted a sealed version to Judge Tanya Chutkan last week. Trump’s lawyers, however, view this as an attempt to sway public opinion and undermine his candidacy, accusing Smith of seeking to make a “politically motivated manifesto” public.
National security attorney Bradley Moss weighed in on social media, remarking, “Reading through this thing, I think it’s safe to say Trump’s lawyers definitely don’t want DOJ’s filing to go public.” The sentiment was echoed by political podcast host Allison Gill, who pointed out that Trump had previously criticized the Justice Department for keeping evidence sealed, only to reverse his stance now that they are calling for transparency. “Today, as predicted, he has changed his mind now that DoJ has called his bluff,” she wrote.
MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner also signaled that the filing marked a critical moment in the case. “Today is the first deadline for Trump’s lawyers to file objections to Jack Smith’s court filing that contains a detailed account of all of Trump’s [alleged] democracy-busting J6 crimes,” Kirschner wrote, adding, “Buckle-up buttercup, your ride’s about to get a whole lot bumpier.”
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As the legal battle unfolds, Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, continues to fight to keep key evidence hidden from the public eye, setting the stage for more high-stakes courtroom drama in the coming days.