WASHINGTON: The federal judge presiding over Donald Trump´s election subversion case released additional evidence on Friday used by Special Counsel Jack Smith to bring charges against the former US president.
District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected a request by Trump´s lawyers to keep the documents sealed until November 14 -- nine days after the US presidential election in which Trump is the Republican candidate.
In arguing against the release of the material, Trump´s lawyers said it could present a “concerning appearance of election interference” and taint the jury pool.
Chutkan said that while there is “undoubtedly a public interest in courts not inserting themselves into elections” withholding the documents could also be construed as election interference.
“If the court withheld information that the public otherwise had a right to access solely because of the potential political consequences of releasing it, that withholding could itself constitute -- or appear to be -- election interference,” she said.
“The court will therefore continue to keep political considerations out of its decision-making, rather than incorporating them as Defendant requests,” she said.
