Donald Trump Makes Last-Ditch Attempt to Stop New Jack Smith Evidence

Former President Donald Trump has made a last-ditch attempt to stop potentially explosive new evidence emerging in his election fraud case.
Trump has asked a judge to block the release of the evidence until November 14, one week after the presidential election, and complained that Vice President Kamala Harris is already using released evidence in her presidential campaign. Trump’s lawyers say that the public is being “poisoned” by the evidence released.
His lawyers told a Washington, D.C., judge that the evidence could affect the election. Judge Tanya Chutkan had already granted a one-week delay while Trump’s legal team weighed their options.
The new evidence is an appendix to a 165-dossier of evidence released on October 2 that shed new light on Trump’s alleged attempts to overthrow Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.
The new filing opposing release of new evidence said: “The Constitution as well as the rules of criminal procedure do not permit the Special Counsel to pre-emptively defend its own lawless superseding indictment, prior to any defense motion.”
“For example,” the filing added, “if the Court immediately releases the Special Counsel’s cherry-picked documents, potential jurors will be left with a skewed, one-sided, and inaccurate picture of this case. Those same potential jurors may not see President Trump’s later responsive filing, and even if some do, “first impressions are prone to remain.”
Trump’s lawyers warned release of the new evidence could also endanger potential witnesses, “especially in light of the extraordinary media coverage of this case [and immunity filings specifically] and the Presidential election that is less than 3 weeks away—and also irreparably harm President Trump.”
They also complain that Harris has been using the released evidence on YouTube ads for her presidential campaign.
“The incumbent Vice President—whose administration the Special Counsel serves—also began featuring the Special Counsel’s brief in political advertisements for the 2024 Presidential Election. Kamala Harris, YouTube (Oct. 6, 2024),” the filing states.
“Thus, without any semblance of due process—including President Trump’s right to cross-examine witnesses and call his own witnesses in a court proceeding—the public has been poisoned by a one-sided prosecutorial narrative that is being used for political purposes by the incumbent administration.”
Trump’s seven-day stay on the release of the evidence appendix ran out on Thursday.
On October 10, Judge Chutkan ruled: “The court will grant Defendant’s request for a stay so that he can evaluate litigation options, and hereby STAYS this decision for seven days.”
On October 2, Chutkan unsealed a 165-page evidence brief in the case. That document made headlines around the world and contained fresh information about Trump’s alleged activities during the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.
It included his alleged indifference to the fate of then-Vice President Mike Pence as pro-Trump rioters hunted for him in the Capitol building.
It also showed that Trump had tried to get support for a flawed report into alleged voter machine fraud in Michigan. The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee refused to publicize the report and told Trump the report was “f***ing nuts.”
The latest proposed release concerns a substantial appendix to the 165-page evidence brief. That appendix has never been seen by the public and contains further allegations against the former president.
Newsweek sought comment via email from Trump’s attorney on Thursday.
Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights in connection with an alleged pressure campaign on state officials to reverse the 2020 election results.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and repeatedly said he is the victim of a political witch hunt. He has accused Smith of attempting to interfere in the 2024 presidential election by prosecuting him.