Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan has denied a request from Donald Trump’s team amid a criminal case from Special Counsel Jack Smith to hold the leading federal prosecutor in contempt for producing case filings amid a pause on most proceedings at the trial level.
The underlying case deals with Trump’s attempts after the last presidential election to stay in power despite losing, and the pause accompanied Trump taking arguments higher in the federal judiciary that he should be considered immune from Smith’s prosecution by mere virtue of having been president. The trial court — meaning Chutkan — put deadlines leading to trial on hold, but Smith’s team nonetheless produced case materials like a motion for the judge to formally block the usage of certain arguments at a future trial. Trump’s team was outraged, leading to the motion preceding Chutkan’s latest decision.
Specifically, Trump requested an order to (among other provisions) show cause why Smith’s team should not be held in contempt, clearly teeing up a sought finding of contempt. Chutkan concluded that the prosecution had not clearly violated her own previous order outlining the delay at the trial level, though she did institute a new demand that any “substantive” pretrial motions be accompanied by her permission before filing. But that’s all, and she rejected the entirety of the rest of Trump’s demands.
“Any such motion for leave to file shall state whether the proposed motion is ancillary to the pending appeal and so requires a timely response or other action before the mandate is returned,” Chutkan said. “This measure is an addition to the Stay Order, aimed to further advance its purposes, and does not reflect a determination that the Government has violated any of its clear and unambiguous terms or acted in bad faith.” “Leave” refers to permission to make the filing, and determining whether a motion is ancillary to the appeal means deciding whether it’s secondary to the arguments in Trump’s appeal or would be subject to the delay on deadlines covering the bulk of proceedings.
