Trump urges judge to hold Jack Smith in contempt for filing motions in halted case

Former President Donald Trump asked a judge Thursday to initiate contempt proceedings against Jack Smith, claiming the special counsel should not have filed documents in Trump’s election subversion case because it is paused while appeals are pending.

“The Stay Order is clear, straightforward, and unambiguous,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in a court filing. “All substantive proceedings in this Court are halted.”

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The attorneys argued that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan should sanction Smith and two of his prosecutors with civil contempt and force them to withdraw any material they have submitted for the case since Chutkan issued the stay on it last month.

Smith, who is leading the prosecution against Trump, has charged the former president with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and obstructing the certification of its results. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is awaiting a decision from an appeals court about whether his case should be dismissed.

Chutkan issued a temporary stay on the case on Dec. 13, 2023, which prohibited “any further proceedings that would move this case towards trial or impose additional burdens of litigation on Defendant” while the appellate court weighs Trump’s dismissal arguments.

Smith, nevertheless, has persisted with submitting routine material in the case, including, according to Trump’s attorneys, handing them nearly 4,000 pages of discovery. Smith also filed a request for the judge to exclude what he considers irrelevant evidence from the trial if and when it proceeds.

Chutkan did not explicitly prohibit Smith’s team from this type of activity, despite putting all deadlines in the case on hold.

Prosecutors explained in a footnote in their most recent filing that they were continuing their legal work to encourage prompt proceedings if and when the case resumes.

“To provide the Court and defendant notice and to promote the prompt resumption of the pretrial schedule if and when the mandate returns, the Government will continue to meet its own deadlines as previously determined by the Court,” the prosecutors wrote.

Trump, for his part, has no obligation to respond to any of Smith’s filings while the case is stayed.

Still, his attorneys argued Smith’s document productions amounted to “harassment” and election interference. Trump, the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate, is entering the election year juggling both legal and campaign trail activity.

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Trump’s attorneys accused Smith of seeking to “score cheap political points … on behalf of” Trump’s leading Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden.

“The prosecutors have repeatedly and willfully disregarded the Court’s explicit instructions,” they wrote. “Such malignant conduct undermines the integrity of this proceeding and warrants severe sanction.”