Trump files 'powerhouse' motion to hold Special Counsel Jack Smith in contempt
On Thursday, attorneys for former President Donald Trump filed a "powerhouse" motion, as described by his campaign, asking a federal judge to find Special Counsel Jack Smith in contempt of court for purportedly "repeatedly violating" a stay order during his investigation into the 2020 presidential election.
The case between Smith's prosecutors and Trump, the leading Republican candidate for 2024, is currently on hold as Trump's legal team pursues an appeal, arguing that the former commander in chief is shielded from prosecution under presidential immunity. The originally scheduled start date for the trial was March 4, as Fox News reported.
"The Stay Order is clear, straightforward, and unambiguous," Trump attorney John Lauro wrote in the filing Thursday. "All substantive proceedings in this Court are halted. Despite this clarity, the prosecutors began violating the Stay almost immediately."
Lauro went on to say that within the first five days of the court pausing proceedings, Smith’s team "served thousands of pages of additional discovery, together with a purported draft exhibit list."
"Through counsel, President Trump advised that he rejected the prosecutors’ unlawful productions, that their actions violated the Stay Order, and that he would seek relief if their malicious conduct continued," he said.
Attorney's Argument
Lauro also said Smith filed an "expansive motion in limine less than 10 days later," which he said "teems with partisan rhetoric, including false claims that President Trump ‘propagates irrelevant disinformation’ both ‘within the courtroom’ and ‘outside of it.’"
Lauro also said that motion "mirrors the Biden administration’s dishonest talking points, asserting, again falsely, that President Trump was responsible for the events of January 6, 2021, when in truth he called for peaceful and patriotic assembly and protest."
"In this manner, the prosecutors seek to weaponize the Stay to spread political propaganda, knowing that President Trump would not fully respond because the Court relieved him of the burdens of litigation during the Stay," Lauro wrote.
"Worse, the prosecutors have announced their intention to continue this partisan-driven misconduct indefinitely, effectively converting this Court’s docket into an arm of the Biden campaign."
According to Lauro, it is necessary to hold Smith and federal prosecutors accountable for contempt of court, compel them to "immediately" rescind their motion in liming and "improper" productions, and prohibit them from submitting any additional filings throughout the stay.
Lauro also said they should assess "monetary sanctions in the amount of President Trump’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in responding to the prosecutors’ improper productions and filings."
From the Trump Campaign
A spokesman for the Trump campaign, Steven Cheung, told Fox News Digital that Trump has "filed a powerhouse motion to hold Crooked Joe Biden’s henchman, Deranged Jack Smith, in contempt of Court for repeatedly violating the stay order in the Washington DC J6 Witch Hunt."
"Smith was ordered to not take any further action in the trial court until the Presidential Immunity issue is resolved, which should be a full dismissal of this ‘case’ because President Trump was carrying out his duty as President to investigate the Rigged and Stolen 2020 Presidential Election," Cheung said.
"Rather than respect the rule of law, Jack Smith unilaterally decided to disobey the stay order and continue with his harassing litigation, all done in order to keep parroting the pathetic Biden Campaign’s corrupt talking points in the name of election interference," he added.
Cheung went on, saying, "as a result, President Trump is seeking to hold Deranged Jack in contempt of Court. No prosecutor is above the law."
