Jack Smith Will Be Forced To Reveal Trump Game Plan This Month: Attorney

Chief prosecutor Jack Smith will soon be forced to reveal his election fraud case against Donald Trump, a criminal defense attorney has told Newsweek.
Keith B. Johnson, an attorney in Augusta, Georgia, said that Smith will have to lay out his case against Trump at a hearing on September 26. That will allow judge Tanya Chutkan to check if the evidence stands, following the Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling on presidential immunity.
“The Court gave prosecutors until September 26th to argue that the remaining counts of the superseding indictment do not run afoul of the Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity,” Johnson said.
Trump was indicted on four counts of allegedly working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The Republican presidential nominee has pleaded not guilty and has said the case is part of a political witch hunt.
The July 1 Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity gave Trump broad protection from prosecution.
As a result, Smith went before a grand jury with a new indictment that he believes is compliant with the Supreme Court decision.
Chutkan now has to assess if the new indictment fits with the Supreme Court ruling.
Newsweek sought email comment from Smith’s office and the Trump campaign on Thursday.
Johnson said it was rare for a judge to ask prosecutors for a brief on all the evidence it intends to bring to trial.
“The Government has committed to preparing a comprehensive brief spanning all the evidence prosecutors would rely on for trial, which is rare for prosecutors to reveal pretrial. However, it shows the importance of this evidentiary hearing,” he said, adding that the hearing “could reveal previously undisclosed facts the Government plans to use in the prosecution of former president Trump.”
“No one can predict the merits of what is left in the indictment until the Government shows their hand on September 26th by laying out their argument for how the remaining counts do not run counter to the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.”
“The Trump legal team will have an opportunity to file a responsive brief before Judge Chutkan makes her ruling on the viability of the Government’s superseding indictment against Mr. Trump,” Johnson said.
He added that, no matter which way Chutkan rules on the immunity issue, either prosecutors or Trump will appeal. That appeal process will likely end up in the Supreme Court, he said.
At a hearing on September 5, Judge Chutkan explained that she wanted a brief from Smith on the evidence in the case by the next hearing on September 26.
She also expressed concern that the immunity issue was causing too much delay in the case.
“We can all walk and chew gum at the same time,” Judge Tanya Chutkan told Trump lawyer, John Lauro, during a September 5 status hearing.
Her comments came after a prosecutor said that his office needs up to three weeks to write the evidence brief requested by Chutkan.
Trump’s lawyers sought to delay discovery proceedings until after the government had written the brief.
“If I give the special counsel the time they’re asking for, the three weeks, why can’t you discuss discovery that you haven’t been given that relates to immunity?” Chutkan asked Lauro.
Lauro replied: “We need everything that we’re entitled to before we address these issues.”