Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed a legal brief under seal in his Jan. 6 case against former President Donald Trump. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump was protected by some presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. The filing is expected to outline the special counsel’s argument on how the Supreme Court ruling applies to Trump’s criminal case, and it may include documentary evidence, grand jury transcripts, and FBI witness materials.
The brief has been submitted under seal, meaning it is not accessible to the public at this time. It will be up to Judge Tanya Chutkan to decide whether or not to make it public.
Trump’s lawyers have raised concerns about the timing and length of Smith’s filing, arguing that it would be unfair given the sensitive nature of the proceedings and likening it to a premature special counsel report. However, Judge Chutkan rejected these arguments, stating that they do not affect the pretrial schedule.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Smith sought a superseding indictment from a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in the case. The superseding indictment was filed on Aug. 27 and maintains charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights against Trump.
The Supreme Court held that presidents enjoy absolute immunity for acts within their constitutional authority but no immunity for unofficial acts. They remanded issues regarding Trump’s alleged acts involving communication with state electors and his communications on Jan. 6 back to the district court for determination.
Now both parties will present their arguments on which charges should be dropped or maintained in light of this revised indictment before Judge Chutkan makes her decision on which actions were official versus unofficial.
Please note: Sam Dorman contributed reporting for this article.
