A federal judge has approved the release of redacted evidence related to a brief challenging former President Donald Trump’s claim of immunity in his federal election case. The redacted appendix is part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 165-page brief, which argues that Trump can still be prosecuted for his alleged criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election, despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that presidents enjoy some criminal immunity for official acts.
The brief accuses the former president of organizing “fraudulent electors,” lying to state officials, and attempting to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election in his role as president of the U.S. Senate. The special counsel’s brief maintains that none of the allegations in the indictment are protected by presidential immunity and that “at its core, the defendant’s scheme was a private one.”
In her order, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan stated that the proposed redactions to the brief’s appendix are appropriate and that Trump’s lawyers had not identified any specific substantive objections to the proposed redactions. Chutkan also dismissed the defense’s blanket objections to further unsealing, stating that concerns about the political consequences of the case proceedings were not a valid legal prejudice.
However, the judge granted Trump’s request for a seven-day delay in the release of the redacted appendix to allow the defense to evaluate litigation options. Trump had opposed the release of the redacted appendix and requested a stay for a reasonable period if the court decided to approve the release.
Trump’s lawyers argued that the evidence presented by the Special Counsel’s Office was unlawfully cherry-picked and mischaracterized in connection with an improper Presidential immunity filing. The special counsel’s office stated that they have redacted “non-public Sensitive Materials in their entirety” in the appendix, including grand jury transcripts, materials obtained through sealed search warrants, and witness interview reports.
Prosecutors have also proposed limited redactions to some publicly-available materials, such as the identities of individuals mentioned in Trump’s tweets who may be susceptible to threats or harassment as potential trial witnesses. Trump’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sam Dorman contributed to this report.
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