WASHINGTON: A U.S. judge has blamed Donald Trump’s lawyers of attempting to stop potentially damaging evidence of his effort to overturn his 2020 polls loss from becoming public before the November 5 election, while admitting the case would not go to trial before then.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan gave prosecutors what is likely their last chance to reveal evidence in the case before the polls, ordering Special Counsel Jack Smith to reply by September 26 to a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that former heads of state have broad protection from criminal prosecution. Former President Donlad Trump will face Vice President Kamala Harris in the November elections.
Donald Trump, who did not attend the hearing, pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges alleging him of using false claims of voter fraud to undermine the election results as well as thwart certification of his loss to Joe Biden.
Former President Trump’s lawyer John Lauro urged Chutkan not to permit prosecutors to publicly air their evidences, arguing it would be unfair to do so at a “sensitive time” ahead of the polls. However, his argument prompted a rebuke from Tanya Chutkan.
