Judge sides with Trump on evidence rules in Jan. 6 trialBy Caitlin Doornbos
August 11, 2023
WASHINGTON – The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference trial agreed with the former president’s defense team Friday that “non-sensitive” evidence in the case can be made public, but warned she would take a dim view of any statements she deems likely to intimidate witnesses.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan also ruled that the 77-year-old Trump could review sensitive grand jury testimony provided by prosecutors without his attorneys present, but could not take notes, copies, or photos of the material.
Prosecutors had tried to block the defense from sharing any evidence with the public, arguing the 45th president would use “criminal discovery for political purposes.”
Thomas Windom, arguing for the government, told Chutkan that without the protective order against Trump, the defense – which he noted was strategizing to get the case moved out of the deep-blue District – could not be stopped from “systematically and purposely” leaking key details about the case, tainting the potential jury pool.
For example, Windom said he feared Trump would run advertisements featuring court evidence and witness testimony on the city’s Metro train systems.
* * *
Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/08/11/judge-sides-with-trump-on-evidence-rules-in-jan-6-2021-trial/
