The judge handling Donald Trump’s federal election interference case accused the former president of “injecting politics” into criminal proceedings, according to an analysis by legal experts.
Glenn Kirshner, a former federal prosecutor and frequent critic of President Trump, releases a trove of documents from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team regarding Trump’s alleged criminal activities in an effort to overturn the 2020 election results. He made this argument while discussing a recent decision by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
Trump’s lawyers objected to the filing’s release so close to the November presidential election. The former president has pleaded not guilty to four federal charges under Smith’s investigation, calling the case a politically motivated “witch hunt” aimed at hindering his chances of winning the 2024 presidential election. is frequently accused of being
Chutkan denied a last-minute request by Trump’s lawyers to seal the filing, saying, “If the court decides that information that the public has a right to access could be subject to political influence by publication.” “If a person is withheld solely on the basis of sex, that withholding may itself constitute a withholding.” It looks like election interference.
“Courts will therefore continue to exclude political considerations from decision-making, rather than incorporating them as a defendant’s request.”
Former President Donald Trump on October 18, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Legal expert Glenn Kirshner said the judge who oversaw Trump’s case on January 6 accused the former president of “injecting politics” into the proceedings. Former President Donald Trump on October 18, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Legal expert Glenn Kirshner said the judge who heard Trump’s case on January 6 accused the former president of “injecting politics” into the proceedings. Win McNamee/Getty Images
Kirshner said on his YouTube channel, Justice Matters, that Chutkan was “sternly pointing out to the former president that it is not Donald Trump who is bringing politics into this criminal case.” .
“‘You’re explicitly asking me to decide how to proceed with this case based on the election, because you’re saying, ‘Judge, we’re going to release the evidence, appendices, and attachments in advance,'” Kirschner said. Because he said, ‘No.’ To the election. ”
“That’s pushing the court to do something for political reasons. She said, ‘I’m not going to do that.'”
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s legal team for comment via email.
Many of the approximately 1,900 pages of documents released Friday were heavily redacted. These pages are believed to be transcripts of grand jury testimony and FBI witness interviews.
Most of the information available for viewing is already publicly available. This includes Trump asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the 11,780 votes needed to defeat Joe Biden in the state in the last election in 2021. It includes a transcript of a phone conversation in January.
The filing includes screenshots of President Trump’s social media posts about the 2020 election and his refusal to certify the results of the 2020 election on January 6, 2021, during a purely ceremonial role as president. It also includes a letter to Congress from former Vice President Mike Pence explaining why it was not possible. of the Senate.
Kershner said the newly released document pages could be redacted because they relate to anonymous co-conspirators who appear in the federal indictment against Trump, who have not yet been indicted. said.
“If you remember Watergate, Watergate took years to establish a criminal justice system,” Kirshner said.
“When you look at the crimes that Richard Nixon and his co-conspirators committed, with 69 indictments and 48 convictions, compared to what Donald Trump and his criminal associates did before and after January 6th. , those crimes look like shoplifting crimes.
“So I know it feels like it’s taking forever for justice to get here. But I believe Jack Smith is just warming up.”
