Trump’s January 6 Fate Sealed with Pre-Election Evidence Release

Judge Tanya Chutkan has set a schedule in the federal election subversion case against former President Donald Trump that will allow prosecutors to release never-before-seen evidence, including grand jury transcripts, ahead of the presidential election.

The deadline for the filing from prosecutors is September 26. Trump’s defense team had sought to delay the public release of evidence until after the November election.

However, Chutkan’s order largely sides with special counsel Jack Smith’s proposed schedule, which will allow for the release of evidence in late September, potentially with some redactions.

This is one of several filings the judge expects before the election. She has not scheduled additional hearings or a trial date.

Chutkan’s scheduling order allows for her to resolve immunity issues on a quicker timeline than Trump’s team proposed, with a deadline for final briefs on the immunity matter set for October 29.

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At a hearing on Thursday, Chutkan made clear she would not take into account the presidential campaign in crafting the next steps in the case.

She rebuffed the defense team’s concerns about the government getting to decide what evidence is aired on the public court record during a “sensitive time” close to the election.

A key disagreement between Trump and the special counsel was which side should file the initial brief on whether the superseding indictment comports with the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.

Smith’s team wants to file an initial brief that includes “substantial exhibits” to lay out the context, form, and content of relevant evidence.

Trump’s lawyers, meanwhile, are pushing for Chutkan to decide first whether the allegations specific to former Vice President Mike Pence are immunized.

Chutkan expressed skepticism to a Trump plan to challenge the indictment on the grounds that Smith was illegally appointed, even as she allowed his team the opportunity to do so.

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