This morning already Trump called for Judge Tanya Chutkan to be removed from his pending J6 trial. This was after Judge Chutkan denied Trump’s lawyers more time to respond to Jack Smith’s request for a protective order regarding evidence. See the update to the last post about that.
This morning on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “THERE IS NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL WITH THE JUDGE “ASSIGNED” TO THE RIDICULOUS FREEDOM OF SPEECH/FAIR ELECTIONS CASE. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS, AND SO DOES SHE! WE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ASKING FOR RECUSAL OF THIS JUDGE ON VERY POWERFUL GROUNDS, AND LIKEWISE FOR VENUE CHANGE, OUT IF [sic] D.C.”
I believe Trump’s chances of getting what he wants are, um, low. See emptywheel on this point. Also see emptywheel for more details on the proposed protective order. It had been “in the works” since Wednesday.
Per emptywheel, on August 2 one of the prosecuting attorneys sent a proposed protective order to Trump attorney John Lauro for his approval/feedback. On August 3 and 4 the prosecution reached out to the Trump team for its response. On Friday afternoon Trump’s lawyer submitted their preferred protective order. DOJ objected, saying the Trump version “would leave large amounts of material completely unprotected in a way not contemplated by standard orders in” DC. The Trumpers responded, saying they hadn’t been given enough time to confer. And then Friday night Trump posted his “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” threat.
Yesterday, Judge Chutkan ordered Trump to respond to the protective order request by 5 pm Monday
MINUTE ORDER as to DONALD J. TRUMP: It is hereby ORDERED that by 5:00 PM on August 7, 2023, Defendant shall file a response to the government’s Motion for Protective Order, stating Defendant’s position on the Motion. If Defendant disagrees with any portion of the government’s proposed Protective Order, ECF No. 10-1, his response shall include a revised version of that Protective Order with any modifications in redline.
Trump lawyer Lauro moved for reconsideration, saying that the government had not conferred with him about the protective order, which was a lie. Yesterday the government responded by saying that the Trump side was holding things up and the government did, too, attempt to confer with Trump’s lawyers. Trump’s people asked for three more days to respond; this was denied.
And that takes us to Trump’s temper “truth” this morning, which didn’t exactly support his request for a more lenient protective order. Trump’s undisciplined posting has a lot to do with why the prosecution wants tight restrictions on evidence.
“All the proposed order seeks to prevent is the improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public,” prosecutors wrote in the protective order request.
“Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him,” it continued.
In related news: Mike Pence says he hasn’t “ruled out” being a witness for the prosecution in Trump’s trial. Assuming he’s subpoenaed, will he have a choice?