Special counsel Jack Smith submitted a request on Wednesday in former President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C., federal election interference case, aiming to prevent him from using political rhetoric and mentioning conspiracy theories during the proceedings.
The petition to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to restrict the comments Trump can make during his trial, which is currently set for March 4, 2024.
“Through public statements, filings, and argument in hearings before the court, the defense has attempted to inject into this case partisan political attacks and irrelevant and prejudicial issues that have no place in a jury trial,” prosecutors said in court papers filed Wednesday.
According to NBC News, “Smith asked the court to prohibit Trump from advancing ‘a theory of selective or vindictive prosecution or to otherwise improperly inject politics into the trial.’”
The request aims to stop Trump from informing jurors about the possible penalties he may face upon conviction and from pointing blame at law enforcement agencies for their lack of preparedness before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Besides asserting claims of immunity, Trump has also contested his indictment by claiming that the charges represent a selective and vindictive legal action. Because these arguments are still awaiting review by Chutkan, the prosecutors argued that Trump should be prohibited from presenting these claims to the jury.
“Although the court can recognize these efforts for what they are and disregard them, the jury — if subjected to them — may not,” Smith’s team said in their motion. “The court should not permit the defendant to turn the courtroom into a forum in which he propagates irrelevant disinformation, and should reject his attempt to inject politics into this proceeding.”
Trump “has suggested that he intends to impeach the integrity of the investigation by raising wholly false claims such as the government’s non-existent ‘coordination with the Biden administration’ and other empty allegations recycled from the selective and vindictive prosecution motion that he based on anonymous sources in newspaper articles,” the motion added.
According to Fox News, “The motion to preclude Trump from introducing broad categories of arguments is a way for prosecutors to try to set parameters on what information they believe the jury should, or should not, hear when the case reaches trial.”
Because of the potential impact of the case on the 2024 presidential election, where Trump is leading the race as the Republican nominee, prosecutors argued that Trump’s legal team should also be prohibited from introducing “irrelevant political issues” to the jurors.
The motion was submitted while the case is temporarily paused due to an appeal regarding the former president’s assertions of immunity from prosecution if elected president.
“While Chutkan can’t make a ruling during the pause, ‘nothing stops her from reading and thinking about whatever he files so she is prepared to rule very quickly once the stay is lifted,’” Randall Eliason, a law professor at George Washington University, told The Wall Street Journal.