‘Without regard to numbers, wealth or rank’: Special counsel rails against Trump ‘scattershot’ First Amendment claims as demand for ‘special exception’

Left: Former President Donald Trump speaks during a break in his civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo: Seth Wenig). Right: Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former President Donald Trump, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at an office of the Department of Justice in Washington. (AP Photo: J. Scott Applewhite.)

Left: Former President Donald Trump speaks during a break in his civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in New York (AP Photo: Seth Wenig). Right: Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former President Donald Trump, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at an office of the Department of Justice in Washington (AP Photo: J. Scott Applewhite).

Special counsel Jack Smith secured a significant victory on Tuesday as the judge overseeing the Jan. 6 case against former President Donald Trump gave the government the go-ahead to file a so-called “oversized brief” on issues related to presidential immunity.

In a 6-page opinion and order, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan allowed the prosecution to file an opening brief of up to 180 pages. This allowance gives Smith’s team exactly four times the typical amount of space allocated to opening briefs under local court rules in Washington, D.C. Typically, opening briefs are limited to 45 pages.

The court’s decision comes as a marked setback to the 45th president. On Monday, Trump’s lawyers castigated the idea of Smith filing such a large brief as a “monstrosity” and “unnecessary tome” as well as part of an “approach” that “is fundamentally unfair.”

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