US judge sets hearing on evidence in Trump's 2020 election case
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[August 09, 2023]
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A federal judge presiding over former President
Donald Trump's trial on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election
has ordered his attorneys and federal prosecutors to appear in court on
Friday for a hearing to help determine how evidence can be used and
shared in the case.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan set the hearing for Friday at 10
a.m. ET (1400 GMT), shortly after Trump's attorneys and members of U.S.
Special Counsel Jack Smith's office had clashed in a joint court over
when to schedule the proceeding.
Prosecutors had said they were available all week, while Trump's lawyers
had asked for a postponement until early next week.
Friday's hearing comes after Trump's defense team on Monday opposed a
request from prosecutors for Chutkan to impose a protective order to
ensure confidential evidence is not shared publicly by Trump, suggesting
he could use the information to intimidate witnesses. Trump has pleaded
not guilty and called the charges politically motivated.
Trump's attorneys said limits would infringe on his right to free
speech, protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/09/images/ads/current/mckinney_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
Trump is not expected to be present in the courtroom on Friday, after
Chutkan waived his appearance.
Typically, defense lawyers do not oppose such protective orders because
doing so can delay the government from producing the evidence it intends
to use at trial in a process known as discovery.
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![](../images/080923PIX/news_n8.jpg)
Former U.S. President and
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign
event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S., July 7, 2023. REUTERS/Scott
Morgan/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/09/images/ads/current/atlantabank_quarter_FAIR_2023.png)
The disagreement between the parties over the hearing date
represented the latest effort by Trump's team to delay or slow legal
proceedings.
It also underscored the logistical challenges that Trump's team may
have as it continues to represent him in two separate federal
criminal cases brought by Smith's office, one in Washington, D.C.,
and the other in southern Florida, where Trump is charged with
retaining highly classified records after leaving the White House
and obstructing the government's efforts to have the records
returned. Trump also pleaded not guilty in that case.
One of Trump's attorneys, Todd Blanche, will be in federal court in
Florida on Thursday for an arraignment, after the government filed a
superseding indictment that charged Trump with additional criminal
counts and also charged another one of his employees in the case.
In the joint Washington filing, Trump's lawyers said Trump wished
for both Blanche and his other lawyer John Lauro to be present for
the hearing before Chutkan.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Howard Goller and Lisa
Shumaker)
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