Trump Asks Court To Find Jack Smith In Contempt, In Further Bid To Delay Jan. 6 Trial
HuffPost
The indicted former president is looking to further stall his trial in case his play for absolute immunity fails.
Former President Donald Trump asked the district court judge overseeing his trial for his actions leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, to hold special counsel Jack Smith in contempt of court, according to a filing submitted on Thursday.
Trump’s filing claims that Smith, who is prosecuting the former president in a D.C. federal court, is in violation of a stay order put in place by Judge Tanya Chutkan after the prosecutor submitted new pretrial filings during the ongoing stay period.
The stay order was put in place after Trump appealed a previous decision by Chutkan rejecting Trump’s assertion of absolute immunity from criminal prosecution. That appeal will be heard by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 9. Smith’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The argument Trump puts forward in his filing is that Smith’s motions are filled with “partisan rhetoric” that “mirrors the Biden Administration’s dishonest talking points.” Since Trump is relieved of having to respond by the stay order, “the prosecutors seek to weaponize the Stay to spread political propaganda.”
Like many Trump-related legal motions, this filing is likely little more than a bid to buy time. Since his multiple indictments for trying to steal the 2020 election and illegally taking classified documents, Trump has engaged in a legal battle to delay his trials as much as possible, since he would become immune from prosecution, and even have the power to dismiss federal charges, if he were to win the 2024 election and take office again.
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