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Government Corruption
Jack Smith asks judge to block Trump from making ‘partisan political attacks' during trial
2023-12-28
[FoxNews] The filing seeks to prevent Trump from pointing out security failures at the Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed another motion with the district court, which seeks to tamp down what former President Donald Trump's legal team can tell a jury in his federal trial currently scheduled for March.

The motion, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is seeking to limit what statements Trump can make leading up to his scheduled March 4 federal trial on alleged 2020 election interference.

That includes a request to prevent Trump from telling the jury he is being prosecuted by the DOJ in coordination with President Biden, as well as suggestions by Trump of undercover agents fomenting violence at the Capitol riots, and of "foreign influence" in the 2020 election.

"Through public statements, filings, and argument in hearings before the Court, the defense has attempted to inject into this case partisan political attacks and irrelevant and prejudicial issues that have no place in a jury trial," Smith's team told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

"Although the Court can recognize these efforts for what they are and disregard them, the jury — if subjected to them — may not. The Court should not permit the defendant to turn the courtroom into a forum in which he propagates irrelevant disinformation, and should reject his attempt to inject politics into this proceeding. To ensure that the jury remains focused on its fact-finding duty and applies the law as instructed by the Court, the defendant’s improper evidence and argument should be excluded."

The filing claims that "through his groundless demand for discovery of evidence regarding ‘investigative misconduct,’" Trump "has suggested that he intends to impeach the integrity of the investigation by raising wholly false claims such as the Government’s non-existent ‘coordination with the Biden Administration’ and other empty allegations recycled from the selective and vindictive prosecution motion that he based on anonymous sources in newspaper articles.

"Although the defendant is entitled to cross-examine the Government’s law enforcement witnesses about matters fairly within the scope of their direct testimony, he cannot raise wholly irrelevant topics in an effort to confuse and distract the jury. Much as the defendant would like it otherwise, this trial should be about the facts and the law, not politics."

The motion seeks to prevent Trump from telling jurors about the potential punishment he could face if convicted, as well as blaming law enforcement agencies for a lack of preparation in advance of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

"Evidence about undercover actors holds no probative value here," Smith's team wrote in the filing regarding the riot, saying the "defendant also appears poised to blame undercover agents, government informants, or confidential human sources (collectively, ‘undercover actors’) for the violence at the Capitol on January 6."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The motion to preclude Trump from introducing broad categories of arguments is a way for prosecutors to try to set parameters on what information they believe the jury should, or should not, hear when the case reaches trial. It was filed as the case is effectively on hold during an appeal of the former president’s claims that he is immune from prosecution for acts taken while in the White House.
Related:
Jack Smith: 2023-12-25 The Hitman Is Exposed!… Former DNI Ratcliffe: Jack Smith Lost More than a Legal Issue at Supreme Court – This May Be His Bob Mueller Moment (VIDEO)
Jack Smith: 2023-12-25 Clarice Feldman: Jack (Smith) Not So Nimble
Jack Smith: 2023-12-23 Supreme Court rejects Jack Smith's request to fast-track decision on Trump presidential ‘immunity'
Posted by:Skidmark

#10  For the libs, “the process is the punishment”
Posted by: Warthog   2023-12-28 15:28  

#9  amendment 1
Posted by: irish rage boy   2023-12-28 15:10  

#8  I am not a lawyer, but it seems novel to me at best for the prosecution to try to dictate what the defense can and cannot do.
Posted by: Tom   2023-12-28 11:16  

#7  Jack S. Smith, wasn't he an Al Capp character?
Posted by: Gromble Dribble4342   2023-12-28 09:51  

#6  Only the prosecution is allowed to make partisan political attacks.
Posted by: ed in texas   2023-12-28 08:53  

#5  "Through public statements, filings, and argument in hearings before the Court...

"NO name calling!"
See Chicago 7 trial.

"All of the convictions were later reversed on appeal and the government declined to retry the case."

All this democrat puppet has is chaff to throw against the wind of the coming campaign and election.
Posted by: Skidmark   2023-12-28 08:23  

#4  Is this guy for real? Even the name is fishy - John Smith? I mean, c'mon, man.
Posted by: Mercutio   2023-12-28 08:08  

#3  Jack demands enforcement of Politburo trial standards.
Posted by: Super Hose   2023-12-28 07:50  

#2  
Given the abilities of the US DC Swamp controlled _ _ _ /_ _ _ _ agencies to snoop, eavesdrop and spy. I have to wonder how secure Trump's Lawyer offices and files are?

Or, is the association of Political DA's, we've seen in action, just picking things to out of the air to tie Trump lawyer group up in court?
Posted by: NN2N1   2023-12-28 06:17  

#1  "Whose country is it: our or the damn People?!"?
Posted by: Grom the Reflective   2023-12-28 04:17  

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