In a new filing with federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, the federal prosecutors leading a criminal case against former President Donald Trump accusing him of several conspiracies that targeted the presidential election results from 2020 asked that he be blocked from making certain, false claims about the violence of January 6, 2021. The context in which they’re hoping for such restrictions to be applied is the future trial, meaning their request covers commentary made before eventual jurors.
Specifically, the prosecution team — led by Special Counsel Jack Smith — cited Trump’s record of trying to shift blame for the day’s events, which the Justice Department has already tied to the ex-president. “Throughout this litigation, and in his public comments, the defendant has sought to blame others for the attack on the Capitol for which he is responsible, including law enforcement, military forces, unidentified secret agents, and foreign influence. The defendant should be precluded from introducing within the courtroom the disinformation he has propagated outside of it,” the government’s new filing says.
In a follow-up portion of the filing, the government points directly to Trump, referring to “the violence he caused and obstruction he intended.”
Trump’s team previously sought for language in the original indictment referring to January 6 to be struck, which Chutkan rejected. Trump’s specific charges relate most directly to his political schemes to secure another four years in power despite losing the last election, but prosecutors have pointed to circumstances surrounding the Capitol attack in 2021 as relevant context for Trump’s allegedly criminal undertakings. They’ve even already referenced Trump’s expressed support for individual rioters — support that’s come in the form of suggestions of presidential pardons, among other showings — amid discussions of his relevant mindset and intentions.
The new filing from Smith specifically asks, among other requests, that Trump be blocked from trying to blame violence at the Capitol on alleged failures by supposedly controlling officials like then-Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Muriel Bowser, the mayor of D.C.
