Lawyers for Donald Trump argued Thursday against releasing additional evidence in the former president’s federal election interference case ahead of Election Day.
“There should be no further disclosures at this time about the so-called ‘evidence’ that the Office of the Special Counsel unlawfully singled out and mischaracterized – during early voting in the 2024 presidential election – in connection with an improper application for presidential immunity claim has no basis in criminal proceedings or judicial precedent,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
“If the Court decides to release additional information relating to the Office’s filing, in the appendix or otherwise, President Trump respectfully requests that the Court stay that decision for a reasonable period of time to allow President Trump to explore the options for litigation regarding until the decision can be assessed. “The filing went ahead.
The additional evidence relates to a 165-page special counsel brief that Jack Smith’s team released this month, alleging that Trump “resorted to crimes” to stay in office after his election loss four years ago, and stating that his actions at the time did not involve official conduct. Trump’s team fought.
A spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment on the case.
Prosecutors from Smith’s office had previously rejected claims by Trump’s lawyers that the administration was “motivated by improper political considerations.”
“The mandate of the Special Prosecutor is to enforce the law. He has no role or interest in party politics and has faithfully performed his prosecutorial duties in this case,” they wrote in an Oct. 1 filing.
Trump and his lawyers have repeatedly tried to delay legal proceedings related to the charges he faces until after next month’s election.
The federal election case was turned on its head after the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, which found that Trump has some protection from prosecution related to official acts. No trial date has been set.
Trump’s lawsuit in Georgia, which is also linked to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, also won’t go to trial before November. The judge overseeing that case last month threw out three of the first 41 charges, including two against Trump.
In addition, Trump successfully postponed sentencing in his hush money case in New York. The judge overseeing that case last month granted his request to further delay his sentencing hearing until after Election Day. A jury in the hush money trial had convicted Trump of 34 felonies of falsifying business records in connection with a payment to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Sentencing, now set for November 26, has been repeatedly postponed from its original date of July 11.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
