Special Counsel Jack Smith is telling the Court what he believes the jury should not hear as Donald Trump tries to defend himself in the election subversion case against him.
Smith’s overarching goal is that Trump not be permitted to use the courtroom as he uses social media and TV — to obfuscate, distract, and confuse the audience with irrelevant claims and red herrings. In this case the audience is a jury, which the court — unlike a social media company — has a duty to protect.
Recognizing a jury’s vulnerability to confusion, the Special Counsel tells the court: “Although the Court can recognize these efforts for what they are and disregard them, the jury—if subjected to them—may not.”
Smith’s team says that Trump must be judged by the jury only as guilty or innocent of the charges brought against him — and that a jury making those determinations has a right to proceed without hearing the extraneous backstory Trump seeks to present, such as claims of the Biden administration “weaponizing” the Justice Department against him.
Addressing Trump’s expected repetition of claims about a vindictive prosecution and the trial interfering with Trump’s presidential campaign, the Special Counsel says: “None of these issues goes to the defendant’s guilt or innocence; all of them should be excluded.”
Special Counsel says: “The Court should not permit the defendant to turn the courtroom into a forum in which he propagates irrelevant disinformation.”
JUST IN: Jack Smith, who continues to file things as though March 4 trial date will remain, says Trump should be barred from telling jury he was targeted for prosecution by Joe Biden. It’s not just wrong, he says, but irrelevant to whether evidence proves his innocence or guilt. pic.twitter.com/nFTuRoMeNL
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 27, 2023
The Special Counsel’s motion also says specifically that the “defendant has signaled his intention to blame the events of January 6 on the Capitol Police, National Guard, and the District’s Mayor.”
The Special Counsel wants this type of defense disallowed, both on grounds that it is inaccurate and also that it is an irrelevant and confusing distraction for the jury. Smith says: “This defense strategy is factually false and precluded by the Rules of Evidence.”
The Special Counsel says “Courts in this District have overwhelmingly rejected attempts by other January 6 defendants to ‘shift the blame to law enforcement'” — a statement that, like many of Smith’s motions, asks the Court to treat Defendant Donald J. Trump the same way courts have treated other defendants, despite the unique circumstances of his position.
Among other things Smith wants Trump barred from raising to the jury:
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 27, 2023
-Agency prep for Jan. 6
-Undercover agents in J6 crowd
-Alleged foreign influence in 2020
-Cross-examination Qs to witnesses that might infringe on valid privileges. pic.twitter.com/xlowBFJj6A
