Trump Team Fights Back With 'Powerhouse Motion' Requesting That DC Court Hold Jack Smith in Contempt

Former President Donald Trump's legal team filed a "powerhouse motion" in D.C. Circuit Court on Thursday asking the court to hold Special Counsel Jack Smith in contempt. To understand the basis for the motion, let's set the table:

Smith caused a bit of a stir the last week of December when his office filed a 20-page motion in limine with the D.C. Circuit Court in the 2020 election interference case pending before Judge Tanya Chutkan.

While many remarked on the apparent aim of the motion to limit Trump and the ability of his team to "inject politics" into the case (never mind that the case is, itself, largely about an election), in truth, it was a fairly standard pre-trial motion — the sort of pleading wherein parties seek to limit the ability of the opposition to introduce certain items or categories of evidence. Such motions, whether filed in criminal or civil matters, typically "shoot for the moon" and ask for all manner of relief from the court with the expectation that some — perhaps most — of the requests will be denied or, at least, reserved until the trial itself. (Sometimes, judges want to actually see how the evidence is playing out before making a definitive ruling.)

Motions in limine serve several purposes: First, when successful, they obviously serve to limit the opposition in terms of what evidence they will be allowed to present to the jury at trial. Second, they alert the trial judge to issues that are likely to be a point of contention during the trial and theoretically help frame the movant's case strategically. Third, they form part of the record for the anticipated appeal. They are standard in jury trial cases, and the mere filing of one is not, in and of itself, remarkable.

Except...the prosecution's motion in the D.C. case was filed on December 27th — 14 days after Judge Chutkan entered an order staying the case pending resolution of the appeal (on the immunity issue).

For a brief refresher as to the import of that order:

In the order, Chutkan stated:
As the D.C. Circuit recently made clear, a former President’s absolute immunity would constitute “an entitlement not to stand trial or face the other burdens of litigation,” such as discovery obligations. Blassingame v. Trump, No. 22-5069, 2023 WL 8291481, at *22 (D.C.Cir. Dec. 1, 2023) (citation omitted). Thus, because Defendant has appealed this court’s denial of that immunity, “whether the litigation may go forward in the district court is precisely what the court of appeals must decide.” Coinbase, 599 U.S. at 741 (quotation omitted). Consequently, the court agrees with both parties that Defendant’s appeal automatically stays any further proceedings that would move this case towards trial or impose additional burdens of litigation on Defendant. Motion at 1; Gvt.’s Opp’n to Def.’s Mot. to Stay Proceedings Pending Appeal at 3, ECF No. 182. Accordingly, and for clarity, the court hereby STAYS the deadlines and proceedings scheduled by its Pretrial Order, as amended. See ECF No. 39; see also Def.’sReply in Supp. of Mot. to Stay Proceedings Pending Appeal at 3, ECF No. 185 (“Reply”).
While Judge Chutkan's order places a pause on the proceedings, she retains jurisdiction over some of the procedural issues/rulings she has already made, such as the gag order and conditions of the former president's release. However, she also notes that if Trump were to ask the reviewing court to "take temporary jurisdiction over the enforcement of those measures, and that court agrees to do so, this court of course will be bound by that decision."

So, while Judge Chutkan still retains jurisdiction over the case for certain procedural rulings and has not yet formally vacated the March 4 trial setting, all deadlines and further proceedings (including discovery) were effectively stayed as of December 13. Yet Smith proceeded with the motion in limine — as well as discovery apparently — in violation of the stay order.

And now Trump's lawyers are asking that the prosecution be sanctioned for it.

"The Stay Order is clear, straightforward, and unambiguous," Trump attorney John Lauro wrote in the filing Thursday. "All substantive proceedings in this Court are halted. Despite this clarity, the prosecutors began violating the Stay almost immediately."
Lauro said within the first five days of the court pausing proceedings, Smith’s team "served thousands of pages of additional discovery, together with a purported draft exhibit list."
"Through counsel, President Trump advised that he rejected the prosecutors’ unlawful productions, that their actions violated the Stay Order, and that he would seek relief if their malicious conduct continued."
Lauro also said Smith filed an "expansive motion in limine less than 10 days later," which he said "teems with partisan rhetoric, including false claims that President Trump ‘propagates irrelevant disinformation’ both ‘within the courtroom’ and ‘outside of it.’"
Lauro also said that motion "mirrors the Biden administration’s dishonest talking points, asserting, again falsely, that President Trump was responsible for the events of January 6, 2021, when in truth he called for peaceful and patriotic assembly and protest."
"In this manner, the prosecutors seek to weaponize the Stay to spread political propaganda, knowing that President Trump would not fully respond because the Court relieved him of the burdens of litigation during the Stay," Lauro wrote. "Worse, the prosecutors have announced their intention to continue this partisan-driven misconduct indefinitely, effectively converting this Court’s docket into an arm of the Biden campaign."

The Trump campaign, via spokesman Steve Cheung, described the filing as "a powerhouse motion to hold Crooked Joe Biden’s henchman, Deranged Jack Smith, in contempt of Court for repeatedly violating the stay order in the Washington DC J6 Witch Hunt."

The full Trump motion may be viewed below. Now we'll see how Smith responds and whether Judge Chutkan will find cause to hold the prosecution in contempt for defying her order.

DJT Show Cause by Susie Moore on Scribd