Tucked away in a court filing Tuesday was a statement from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office warning U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that Donald Trump’s “daily” statements “threaten to prejudice the jury pool.”
Trump is using his Truth Social social media account to target prosecutors, judges, and others involved, directly or indirectly, in his criminal cases.
Judge Chutkan is presiding over the federal government’s case against the ex-president surrounding his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his alleged efforts surrounding the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Trump’s legal team complained that federal prosecutors had failed to notify them of a filing made “under seal,” meaning a filing the public cannot see, but Smith’s office told the judge they had notified the Trump legal team of the filing, just not that it would be sealed.
The Special Prosecutor’s attorneys noted in their response, “…given the pressing matters before the Court including the defendant’s daily extrajudicial statements that threaten to prejudice the jury pool in this case…,” as Politico’s Kyle Cheney reported.
“Prosecutors made that claim as they pushed back on a call by Trump’s lawyers to allow a three-week briefing process for Judge Tanya Chutkan to decide whether ‘every ordinary’ court filing that refers to sensitive materials should be placed on the court’s public docket,” CNBC reports. “The claim by prosecutors that Trump’s out-of-court statements could make it difficult to seat a fair jury in the case came as part of a squabble with his lawyers over the protocol for filing legal motions.”
The filing in question refers to what what prosecutors called “Sensitive Materials,” generally documents or information the government believes should not be revealed to the general public.
“Chutkan later issued an order granting Trump’s motion. She told defense lawyers to respond to the prosecutors’ motion to file their document under seal by Monday,” CNBC adds.