Former President Donald Trump's counsel asked a judge in Georgia to contact a separate judge presiding over his federal criminal case in Washington, D.C., to arrange for the sharing of evidence that will "make clear his innocence" in the Fulton County racketeering case.
Attorney Steve Sadow, who is representing Trump after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis levied 13 charges against him in a sweeping racketeering indictment, wants Willis to contact special counsel Jack Smith to see if any discovery materials in his case against the former president are relevant to the Georgia indictment.
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"President Trump is seeking fair and reasonable means to protect his right to due process of law under the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions," Sadow told the Washington Examiner in a statement. "We are confident that securing access to relevant discovery contained in the files of the Special Counsel's Office in D.C. will further support President Trump's defense and make clear his innocence in the Fulton County case."
Sadow clarified in a three-page filing sent to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that "Trump is not currently seeking access to the actual D.C. discovery material," rather, he is seeking "a practicable way to determine if any discovery material disclosed in the D.C. case is arguably relevant to our case."
For example, Sadow asked whether there's any information within discovery documents in Smith's case "relating to witnesses the DA's office may call at trial or bearing on factual issues raised by the charges in the indictment likely to be in dispute at trial."
The case brought by Smith levies four federal felony charges against Trump, asserting he sought and conspired to overturn the 2020 election results against him nationally. The case in Georgia is narrower in scope and accuses Trump and more than a dozen others of working as a criminal enterprise to subvert the election results in Fulton County. Trump has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Sadows's motion included a Nov. 7 email he sent to two of Trump's other attorneys, John Lauro and Todd Blanche, who are on his defense team in the federal case, seeking their help in sharing the materials. Lauro responded three days later, saying that Sadow's request may not be fulfilled because the information he requested might be covered under a protective order issued by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the federal case.
"As such, we are not able to share information designated by the federal prosecutors as 'sensitive,'" he wrote. "Unfortunately, we believe that the information you have requested may be covered by the order and therefore we cannot share it with you."
Sadow also asked McAfee on Monday to add the matter to an already-scheduled Dec. 1 hearing on motions by Trump and his co-defendants, as they are also seeking to dismiss the underlying Fulton County charges.
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Trump's counsel made their latest filing in Georgia just days after Willis proposed the racketeering trial begin Aug. 5, three months before the November 2024 presidential election. Sadow quickly filed an opposing motion in response to Willis last week, demanding that McAfee hold oral arguments over the proposed timeline.
Read Sadow's filing below: