Experts weighed in on an "all-important" filing in Donald Trump's election interference case in Washington, D.C, including one who said special counsel Jack Smith's decision not to outline a proposed schedule was a tacit admission his team doesn't think they can get the case to trial before the election.
Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman outlined the "main points" on X of the 11th-hour filing, which came through Friday night. Litman summarized the document in a series of posts, saying first, the government proposed filing an opening brief explaining why the Supreme Court's immunity ruling does not apply to the categories of allegations.
Trump will file a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the grand jury "was exposed to immunized conduct," said Litman. Prosecutors believe the court should only consider the dismissal after determining whether the indictment contains such conduct.
Additionally, Trump wants to challenge the legality of Smith's appointment and the Justice Department's funds, Litman said, citing a Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argument that Judge Aileen Cannon adopted.
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Trump also argued that the Chutkan should not accept the prosecution's brief.
"And in broad strokes, Trump wants to move first and have the Court approve a long process of various motions stretching into 2025, while Smith says let's deal with immunity first, and government ready to submit brief on it right now," wrote Litman.
Speaking on CNN's "Laura Coates Live," Hugo Lowell, senior political correspondent for the Guardian, noted the schedule laid out by Trump's team kicks "all of this past the election."
"They have shoehorned this little appointments clause filing in the middle to get themselves past November 5th because, frankly, they don't want any discussion about the Jan. 6 case before the election," he said.
Lowell called it "interesting" that prosecutors didn't lay out a schedule that contemplates "anything before the election."
"To me, it does tacitly suggest the government has decided it cannot get this to trial, it cannot get these hearings in a timely fashion before the election, and they've given that road up for now," he said.
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