'Public’s interest is fully vindicated': Smith slaps back as Trump tries to cloak evidence

Special counsel Jack Smith slapped back at former President Donald Trump's attempt to keep new evidence in his criminal election interference case from reaching the public before Election Day.

Smith this week filed a nine-page argument to Washington D.C. federal Judge Tanya Chutkan in support of publishing a redacted copy of his 180-page case summary to the public docket.

"The public’s interest is fully vindicated by accessing the substantive material in the Government’s filing," Smith wrote.

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"The unredacted substance of what a witness said is more important, for purposes of public access, than the redacted identity of the specific person who said it."

Smith's new argument hit the public docket just one day after he filed a massive sealed document containing previously unseen evidence, which could include grand jury interview transcripts and FBI notes from witnesses such as Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump.

Smith on Saturday asked Chutkan for permission to submit the oversized brief outlining allegations that the former president unlawfully attempted to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The brief deals with immunity issues stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that Trump enjoyed limited presidential immunity during his tenure in the White House.

Trump's attorneys attempted to prevent Smith from filing the document at all in a nine-page objection filed Monday that complained of unfairness and hypocrisy, court records show.

"The proposed approach is fundamentally unfair, as the Office would attempt to set a closed record for addressing unfiled defense motions...denying President Trump an opportunity to confront their witnesses, and preventing the defense from obtaining discovery," the argument reads."

"The hypocrisy of this proposed approach is demonstrated by the Office’s earlier arguments—in this case and in Florida—that using discovery materials in public filings could taint the jury pool and bias potential witnesses," the filing states.

Chutkan was apparently unimpressed by this argument and granted Smith permission to file the following day.

The Washington D.C. federal court judge has since set two October deadlines for Trump's lawyers to challenge Smith's proposed redactions to sensitive materials — suggesting a redacted filing could reach the public that same month, and before Election Day.

Legal experts on Friday applauded Chutkan's judgement and her haste.

"Chutkan is not wasting any time," said MSNBC analyst Katie Phang. "She is moving as quickly as she can, with full consideration of fairness and due process for both sides."