WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Thursday granted Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s request that the government present an opening brief to defend its superseding indictment under the Supreme Court’s new presidential immunity regime.
In making the request, the government had also indicated that it had new evidence, not currently part of the indictment, to include. This schedule means that the evidence could become public knowledge before the election, if Chutkan doesn’t put it under seal. The DOJ’s Thomas Windon had mentioned grand jury and interview transcripts as part of the new tranche of information.
The opening brief is due September 26, the date by which Windon had told Chutkan earlier on Thursday that the government could finish. He added that they’d begun work already, but needed to pull the exhibits together.
John Lauro, Donald Trump’s lawyer, railed against the government’s request, which he painted as a grave miscarriage of justice.
“It’s enormously prejudicial to President Trump,” Lauro said, adding that he “couldn’t imagine a more unfair” procedure.
Chutkan was unmoved, pointing out that it would benefit the defense to get an advance look at the prosecution’s arguments.
“There’s nothing inherently unfair in that, it’s just a matter of who goes first,” she said.
Trump’s team wants Chutkan to dismiss the entire indictment and claimed Thursday that Trump’s pressuring of then-Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election is a) protected, immune behavior and b) by its inclusion in the indictment, taints the unofficial, unprotected behavior as well, sinking the whole thing.
Chutkan, who sounded unimpressed by the “dismiss it immediately” arguments, set October deadlines for that argument, along with a series of others through the fall for Trump’s additional, disparate attempts to get rid of the case.
One of those attempts rests on the right-wing contention that all special prosecutors — including Smith — are improperly appointed, mooting the whole case.
“Is your argument that another district court in Florida, that plus dicta in a concurrence, those two things combine to warrant me going against binding D.C. Circuit precedent?” Chutkan asked Lauro incredulously, adding that the she didn’t find the Florida opinion — Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling to dismiss the Mar-a-Lago documents case under this argument — “very persuasive.”
It was one of the most combative moments of the hearing, when Lauro responded that Justice Clarence Thomas, writing in concurrence on the immunity decision, “directed us to raise this issue.”
“He directed you to do this?” Chutkan asked quickly, causing Lauro to furiously backpedal.
As she indicated that she would, Chutkan is keeping Trump’s many avenues to try to get the case nixed running more or less concurrently, thwarting Trump’s attempts to take them in turns and delay the case.
“We all know that whatever my decision on immunity is is going to be appealed,” Chutkan said Thursday. “There needs to be some forward motion in this case.”
Please please please let this evidence go public before the election, and please let the media grow some cajones and not let it drop.
ETA: Holy smokes, I’m first?
Let this come out a week before election day. October surprise…
Judge Chutkan is not playing around. She means to get this case on track.
Oh goody, new evidence and new arguments. I guess that is fair since we have an entire new system of legal jurisprudence with the idea that presidents are immune for official acts.
The statement about Thomas is really something. And if any aspect of this specific issue ends up in front of the Supremes, it is inconceivable that he wouldn’t have to recuse.