More docs unsealed in Jack Smith's Jan. 6 case against Trump
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Former President Trump speaks during a Univision Noticias town hall event on Oct. 16 in Doral, Florida. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A D.C. federal court on Friday released heavily redacted volumes of evidence in special counsel Jack Smith's Jan. 6 case against former President Trump.
The big picture: The evidence, much of which was already public information, was dropped weeks after a more damaging dump in the same case. Trump's legal team has pushed to keep these files sealed as he seeks another term.
- U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected the Trump legal team's request Thursday to delay the release of evidence until after the presidential election.
- The evidence includes House Jan. 6 committee interviews with former Trump associates who said they saw no evidence of fraud.
- It also includes fundraising emails sent to prospective voters and excerpts from former Vice President Mike Pence's biography.
State of play: Since the Supreme Court ruled over the summer that presidents have some immunity for "official acts" Smith has tried to keep his election interference case against Trump alive.
- Chutkan must decide how to square the blockbuster high court ruling with the allegations about Trump's conduct in the case.
Zoom in: Smith's evidence includes a House committee interview with a White House employee that had previously been redacted, per Politico's Kyle Cheney. The employee describes telling Trump that the broadcast of his speech was cut off because of Capitol rioters.
- "Sir, they cut it off because they're rioting down at the Capitol," the staffer said. "And he was, like, what do you mean?"
In a separate interview with the committee, someone else whose identity is not released said they had no "visibility" in the presidential transition process and felt they would be fired for having spoken out.
- "It looked to me like there was maneuvering going on," the person said. "And, you know, I have no problem with going through the appropriate process to challenge an election."
Earlier released interviews were also included in the newest document dump such as one the Detroit Free Press reported on about a call former Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey received under the caller ID "spam risk Egypt" in the weeks after the election.
- The newest documents showed that in a call on Nov. 18, 2020, Trump "mentioned his concerns about the election" and the response was "we were indeed looking into some of the allegations that had been made" regarding fraud.
Follow the money: The documents also showed several organizations' budget and trip plans to support Trump's voter fraud allegations and rallies in Washington, D.C.
- Turning Point Action contributed $1 million to deploy social media influencers and students to D.C. for Trump's Jan. 6 rally, according to the plan.
- "They will be producing all the video content at the event and will also be running nationwide ads educating millions about the significance of January 6th for President Trump, in addition to mobilizing students to fight against voter fraud," the plan said.
Go deeper: Jack Smith's endgame
Editor's note: This story has been updated with details from the documents.
