Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed a motion on Wednesday morning seeking to prevent former President Donald Trump from claiming that he was persecuted by President Joe Biden in his federal election interference case, which is an argument Trump has repeated throughout his 2024 campaign as his legal troubles continue.
Key Facts
In his filing, Smith stated that the federal court should prohibit Trump from “presenting evidence or making arguments or framing questions to promote the theory of selective or retaliatory persecution.”
Smith alleged in his filing that Trump has “sought to inject partisan political attacks and irrelevant, prejudicial issues into the trial through ‘public statements, filings, and discussions in court proceedings.’
Trump has repeatedly attacked Smith at campaign events and on his social media platforms, describing Smith as a “rational prosecutor” and a “low-life prosecutor,” and has labeled the case a “witch hunt,” claiming that the charges against him “were all directed at me” by “my political opponent, the twisted Mr. Joe Biden.”
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
What to Watch For
Trump’s federal election interference case has stalled as he continues to appeal, arguing that he is protected from prosecution under presidential immunity, a claim U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected earlier this month when she denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the charges, stating that his presidency did not grant him the “divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens.” This argument could go to the Supreme Court, after Smith requested last week for the Supreme Court to consider the case in order to avoid a lengthy appeals process. The Supreme Court initially agreed to review Smith’s request, despite Trump’s plea to allow the appeals process to conclude in a “cautious and deliberate” manner, although the Supreme Court rejected the Justice Department’s request to expedite its investigation into Trump’s presidential immunity claim, without providing an explanation.
Trump’s trial in the federal case is scheduled to begin on March 4.
Sidebar
Trump has faced multiple gag orders in various cases, including in New York, where he is facing a civil fraud trial over accusations of illegally inflating the value of his assets for lucrative business deals. A New York appellate court reinstated a gag order in that case earlier this month, prohibiting Trump and his legal team from making public statements about court personnel, after that gag order was temporarily lifted late last month. Trump was fined $15,000 for violating this gag order on two occasions, after he posted about the law clerk of Judge Arthur Engoron on his campaign website and after he attacked journalists over a “partisan character” sitting next to the judge, apparently referring to Engoron’s clerk.
Further Reading
Gag orders issued to Trump: Here’s everything the former president can’t say in the cases against him – including the reinstated order by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (Forbes)
Jack Smith pushes the Supreme Court for a swift decision on Trump’s immunity (Forbes)
Send me a secure tip. Brian Bushard
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