Jack Smith has repeatedly violated a stay in the January 6th case issued by Judge Chutkan while Trump’s immunity defense plays out in the courts.
The stay issued by Chutkan suggests there should be no further proceedings during this pause, but Smith has made multiple filings and now Trump wants him held in contempt for violating the pause.
Here’s more from the New York Post:
Donald Trump’s legal team demanded Thursday that special counsel Jack Smith’s office be held in contempt for allegedly flouting a DC judge’s stay of further proceedings in the 2020 election subversion case against the former president.
In a 15-page motion, attorney John Lauro contended that Smith’s office continued to submit filings to Judge Tanya Chutkan in violation of the pause she ordered while the 77-year-old Trump’s challenge to the case against him makes its way through the courts.
“President Trump has filed a powerhouse motion to hold Crooked Joe Biden’s henchman, Deranged Jack Smith, in contempt of Court for repeatedly violating the stay order in the Washington DC J6 Witch Hunt,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
“Rather than respect the rule of law, Jack Smith unilaterally decided to disobey the stay order and continue with his harassing litigation,” Cheung went on. “No prosecutor is above the law.”
The motion specifically calls on the court to “show cause” why prosecutors haven’t been held in contempt or why they shouldn’t face “monetary sanctions.”
Last month, Chutkan ruled that “any further proceedings that would move this case towards trial or impose additional burdens of litigation on defendant” would be halted while the question of whether Trump enjoys immunity from the charges against him is decided.
In the Thursday filing, Trump’s attorneys alleged that “the prosecutors repeatedly engaged in that exact conduct, disobeying the Stay Order at least three times in just two weeks.”
Lauro noted that Smith’s office furnished roughly 4,000 pages of “additional discovery” on Dec. 17, 2023, and then put out an exhibit list the next day.
Then on Dec. 27, 2023, Smith’s team called on the court to exclude certain evidence expected from the defense that prosecutors said “make arguments that are improper.”
“The prosecutors have no justification for their misconduct,” the filing said.
“The stay order is clear, straightforward, and unambiguous,” Trump’s lawyers added. “All substantive proceedings in this court are halted. Despite this clarity, the prosecutors began violating the stay almost immediately.”