Special counsel Jack Smith has forcefully responded to former President Donald Trump’s attempts to keep new evidence in his criminal election interference case sealed from the public ahead of Election Day. In a nine-page argument filed this week with Washington D.C. federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, Smith advocated for the release of a redacted version of his 180-page case summary, emphasizing the importance of public access.
“The public’s interest is fully vindicated by accessing the substantive material in the Government’s filing,” Smith wrote, underscoring that the content of witness statements is more crucial to public understanding than the identities of those providing the testimony. “The unredacted substance of what a witness said is more important, for purposes of public access, than the redacted identity of the specific person who said it,” he added.
Smith’s push for transparency came just a day after he submitted a sealed document that reportedly contains previously unseen evidence. This evidence could include grand jury transcripts and FBI notes from high-profile witnesses such as former Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump. The new evidence is part of Smith’s case that Trump unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
On Saturday, Smith requested Judge Chutkan’s permission to file the oversized brief, which addresses immunity issues related to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting Trump limited presidential immunity during his time in office. The brief, according to Smith, outlines key allegations central to his case against Trump.
Trump’s legal team has objected to the move. In their own nine-page filing on Monday, the former president’s attorneys argued that Smith’s approach is “fundamentally unfair.” They accused Smith’s office of hypocrisy, claiming that allowing such materials to be used in public filings would taint the jury pool and bias potential witnesses. “The hypocrisy of this proposed approach is demonstrated by the Office’s earlier arguments—in this case and in Florida—that using discovery materials in public filings could taint the jury pool and bias potential witnesses,” the filing stated.
However, Judge Chutkan was unpersuaded by Trump’s arguments. She granted Smith permission to file the case summary the following day and set two deadlines in October for Trump’s legal team to challenge proposed redactions to sensitive materials. This raises the possibility that redacted portions of the case summary could be made public as soon as next month—well before Election Day.
Legal experts have praised Chutkan’s swift decision-making. “Chutkan is not wasting any time,” said MSNBC analyst Katie Phang. “She is moving as quickly as she can, with full consideration of fairness and due process for both sides.”