Trump election case prosecutors get judge’s approval to introduce new evidence in court filing – Boston Herald

By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal election interference case against Donald Trump inched forward Thursday, with a judge allowing prosecutors to file court documents later this month that could detail unflattering allegations about the former president as the Republican nominee enters the final weeks of his campaign for the White House.

The order came hours after a court hearing, the first in the case in nearly a year, in which U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan faced off with a Trump lawyer who accused the administration of trying to rush through an “illegitimate” impeachment in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Chutkan made clear she would not let the upcoming election affect how she proceeds, brushing aside defense efforts to delay the process, though she also acknowledged the case is nowhere near a trial date.

“There’s no rush to judgment here,” Chutkan said.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys are at odds over the next steps in the case after the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the impeachment by ruling that former presidents are entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges. The conflicting arguments and tense exchanges in the courtroom Thursday reflected the extent to which the justices’ July opinion had upended the course of the case accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

At the end of the day, he allowed prosecutors to file by Sept. 26 a legal brief that could include new details about Trump’s failed attempts to cling to power four years ago. The brief is intended to defend a revised and streamlined indictment against Trump that special counsel Jack Smith’s team filed last week to comply with the Supreme Court’s immunity opinion. The filing is expected to include detailed allegations from the investigation, said Thomas Windom, a member of Smith’s team.

Trump attorney John Lauro objected to filing the brief before the defense team had a chance to seek dismissal of the indictment and during the “sensitive period” before the election.

“This process is inherently unfair, particularly during this delicate time we find ourselves in,” Lauro said.