Trump hit with new evidence from Jack Smith in federal Jan. 6 case

Former President Trump was set to be hit on Thursday with reams of new evidence from special counsel Jack Smith in the federal Jan. 6 case — but the public won’t immediately get to see any of it.

Smith, who has been blocked from taking the case to trial, was poised to submit a 180-page dossier backing up his claim that Trump’s alleged misdeeds are not covered by the Supreme Court’s ruling granting him significant immunity for crimes committed in office.

District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan has not ruled whether or when she might allow the filing to be made public.

The document dump could include bombshell new details about Trump’s scheme to stay in power after losing the 2020 election to President Biden, and would likely mark the last chance for voters to see evidence of the former president’s alleged actions before Election Day.

It could include excerpts from interviews prosecutors have conducted with some of Trump’s top lieutenants like Vice President Mike Pence and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about Trump’s efforts to cling to power, which culminated with the rally that preceded a mob of extremist Trump supporters storming the Capitol building.

Trump accuses Smith and other officials and judges of smearing him with a witch hunt in hopes of preventing him from winning a return to the White House.

Chutkan ruled Tuesday that Smith can submit the longer than expected filing, noting that it doesn’t amount to proof Trump did anything illegal.

“(It) does not conclusively establish anything — it merely provides evidence for the judicial factfinder to consider,” Chutkan wrote.

A trial in the momentous case has been sidetracked by the Supreme Court’s ruling in July that Trump enjoys immunity for alleged crimes committed while serving in the White House, if the misdeeds can be considered to his official actions.

The divided top court instructed Chutkan to hold a judicial proceeding to determine whether alleged crimes fall into the category of official acts or alternately if they were carried out in Trump’s private capacity as a candidate for reelection.

Smith last month obtained a new superseding indictment of Trump that streamlines the accusations and drops some altogether.

Whatever ruling Chutkan makes on that issue is likely to be appealed back to the Supreme Court. That suggests the case would not go to trial until mid-2025 at the earliest.

Trump makes no secret of his intention to order an end to the prosecution if he wins a second term in the election pitting him against Vice President Kamala Harris.

The federal January 6 case is just one of four criminal cases Trump faces.

He was convicted and is awaiting sentencing after Election Day in the Manhattan case accusing him of paying hush money to cover up an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump faces a sprawling RICO election conspiracy case in Georgia state court, a case that is on hold indefinitely as a court hears an appeal over Trump’s effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over an affair with a top lieutenant.

The former president was also charged by Smith with improperly taking classified documents to his Florida resort when he left office and defying efforts to get them back.

Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case, agreeing that Smith was improperly appointed, but most legal experts expect an appeals court to reinstate the charges.

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