A federal judge has approved the release of redacted evidence related to a brief filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith, which challenges former President Donald Trump’s claim of immunity in his federal election case. The redacted appendix is part of Smith’s 165-page brief, which argues that Trump can still be prosecuted for his alleged criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election, despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that presidents have some criminal immunity for official acts.
The brief accuses the former president of organizing “fraudulent electors,” lying to state officials, and attempting to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election in his role as president of the U.S. Senate. The special counsel’s brief maintains that none of the allegations in the indictment are protected by presidential immunity and that “at its core, the defendant’s scheme was a private one.”
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has stated that prosecutors’ proposed redactions to the appendix are appropriate and that Trump’s lawyers have not raised any specific substantive objections. She also dismissed defense objections to further unsealing as without merit and stated that concerns about political consequences are not legally relevant.
However, Judge Chutkan granted Trump’s request for a stay on the decision, pausing the release for seven days so that his defense team can evaluate their litigation options.
Trump had previously opposed releasing the redacted appendix and requested a reasonable period of stay if it were approved for release. His lawyers argued against disclosing what they called “unlawfully cherry-picked and mischaracterized evidence” during early voting in connection with an improper presidential immunity filing.
The special counsel’s office has confirmed that sensitive materials such as grand jury transcripts, sealed search warrants materials, and witness interview reports have been entirely redacted from the appendix. They have also proposed limited redactions to publicly-available materials like identifying individuals mentioned in Trump’s tweets who may be susceptible to threats or harassment as potential trial witnesses.
Trump’s attorneys did not immediately respond when asked for comment on this matter.