WASHINGTON, D.C. – New information in the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump has now been unsealed from court documents. A US district judge made public a brief from Special Counsel Jack Smith with evidence and arguments why this case should move forward despite the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
The 165-page brief was originally filed under seal a week ago. The judge overseeing the case has to determine what charges trump could face following the Supreme Court’s ruling. Justices ruled presidents can be prosecuted for unofficial not official acts while in office.
Parts of the document are redacted but the Special Counsel’s brief asserts there is enough evidence to proceed with the case even with the Supreme Court’s ruling. The brief gives more detail about conversations and other evidence arguing the actions from Trump to overturn the 2020 presidential election were fundamentally private, meaning not in his official role as president.
For example, the brief claims Trump told his family “it doesn’t matter if you won or lost the election. You still have to fight like hell”. It also highlights Trump’s actions during the January 6, 2021 US Capitol attack. The brief details Trump was on social media criticizing the then Vice President Mike Pence for not stopping the certification of electoral votes. The brief states after Trump was informed Pence was moved to a secure location as rioters made their way into the Capitol, Trump looked at the aid and said only “so what?”
The brief was unsealed weeks before the November election. The judge in this case said earlier this week that she is conducting a “close” and “fact specific” analysis of the indictment’s allegations, as directed by the Supreme Court.
