Jack Smith violated judge's order by hitting Trump with new evidence list: lawyers

Donald Trump's attorneys complained that federal prosecutors might be violating a court-ordered pause to his election subversion case by providing him with discovery material.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the halt last week while the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals considers Trump's "presidential immunity" claim, and his legal team made a filing Monday night arguing that special counsel Jack Smith was ignoring that and trying to "advance" the case by serving them with "thousands of pages of additional discovery" and a "draft exhibit list," reported The Messenger.

"Such maneuvers are exactly what the Stay Order forbids, and impose a significant and prohibited burden on President Trump," wrote his attorneys. "President Trump has an incontrovertible and inviolable right to be free from the burdens of this litigation during his appeal."

The special counsel's office notified Chutkan earlier Monday that they had delivered an exhibit list to Trump's lawyers to comply with a deadline she had previously set, stating they hoped that would ensure the trial moves ahead promptly once the judge resumes jurisdiction over the case.

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But the defense filing states that "neither he nor counsel will review the prosecution’s unlawful productions until and unless the Court lifts the Stay Order."

Also Monday, a three-judge panel of the appeals court scheduled oral arguments for Jan. 9, while the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to a request from Smith to an expedited review of whether to take up the case and rule on the appeal.

Trump has been charged with four federal felonies related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, and his trial is currently scheduled to begin March 4.