In a swift response to former President Donald Trump’s legal team’s motion to hold special counsel Jack Smith in contempt for advancing court motions ahead of deadlines, Smith’s team presented a counter-argument in a new court filing on Friday.
Smith’s defense asserted that their early submission of discovery documents did not breach any court orders, dismissing Trump’s repeated claims of bias and prosecutorial misconduct as unfounded.
The case, overseen by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, was temporarily put on hold last month as an appeals court deliberates on whether to dismiss it based on Trump’s claim of presidential immunity.
In her ruling, Judge Chutkan indicated that while proceedings are paused, the future deadlines could be subject to reconsideration, emphasizing that the pause was temporary, not permanent.
Smith’s recent filing highlighted that, prior to Judge Chutkan’s order to halt the deadlines, the prosecutors had publicly committed to adhering to the established timelines, and subsequently followed through with this commitment.
Smith’s office, in their latest memo, stressed that their actions imposed no obligation on Trump. They further argued that Trump failed to demonstrate how receiving these documents, which require no immediate response, could be burdensome.
Additionally, Smith’s team explained their intention to keep meeting set deadlines to facilitate a smooth resumption of the pretrial schedule once the appeals court reaches a decision.
The appeals court is expected to conduct hearings on the matter next week, with the possibility of the case advancing to the Supreme Court depending on the outcome of the appeal.
