The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's election interference case in Washington, D.C., denied a request by the former president to prevent Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith from releasing until after the Nov. 5 election a massive legal brief arguing why Trump can be criminally prosecuted.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a former President Barack Obama appointee, wrote in a five-page ruling issued Thursday that "incidental effects on politics are not the same as a court's intentional interference with them."
"As a result, it is in fact Defendant's requested relief that risks undermining that public interest," Chutkan wrote. "If the court withheld information that the public otherwise had a right to access solely because of the potential political consequences of releasing it, that withholding could itself constitute – or appear to be – election interference."
Chutkan also ordered Smith's four-part appendix – with potentially significant redactions – to be released Friday. Smith is arguing why Trump should still be prosecuted following the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision in July that former presidents cannot be prosecuted for actions relating to the core powers of their office, and that there is at least a presumption that they have immunity for their official acts more broadly.
The case was thrown back to the lower courts to determine whether the conduct at the center of Smith's charges against Trump was official or unofficial.
Newsmax reached out to Trump's campaign for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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