Public announcements or press releases from Special Counsel Jack Smith's office

Judge Chutkan's 50-Page Ruling Rejects Most of Trump's Discovery Requests in Jan. 6 Case

Oct 16, 2024, 06:33 PM

In the ongoing legal proceedings concerning Donald Trump's alleged election fraud and interference, Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a 50-page ruling largely rejecting Trump's demands for additional discovery from the federal government. The ruling follows a filing by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is set to publicly release more evidence on October 17th. Trump's defense had requested various documents, including classified materials from multiple government agencies, but most of these requests were denied. Judge Chutkan noted that Trump could bear responsibility for the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol even if he did not explicitly instruct his supporters to attack. Special Counsel Jack Smith's team asserts that Trump bears responsibility for the January 6th attack. The judge granted only a small portion of Trump's requests, specifically those seeking discrete, identified documents, while denying others based on speculation. One request sought to undermine cybersecurity czar Chris Krebs' statement that the 2020 election was "the most secure in American history," which was also denied. Additionally, the court has ordered the U.S. government to file a notice of compliance by October 26th, with Trump’s defense required to move to compel immunity-related discovery by October 30th.