Judge unseals heavily redacted trove of evidence in Trump's 2020 election interference case

[October 19, 2024]  By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case made public Friday a heavily redacted trove of documents that provide a small glimpse into the evidence prosecutors will present if the case ever goes to trial. 

This undated photo provided by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, shows U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. Chutkan directed prosecutors Wednesday to search for and provide to the former president's lawyers any Justice Department information related to a separate investigation into Mike Pence's handling of classified documents. (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP, File)

The nearly 1,900 pages of documents collected by special counsel Jack Smith's team were initially filed under seal to help U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan decide what allegations can proceed to trial following the Supreme Court opinion in July that conferred broad immunity on former presidents for official acts they take in office.

The information that could be seen in the redacted version released Friday appeared to be material that for the most part had already been made public, including screenshots of Trump’s social media posts about the 2020 election and a transcript of the video statement he made on Jan. 6, 2021, in which he told the rioters attacking the Capitol to go home, but added: “we love you” and “you’re very special.”

The overwhelming majority of the pages released Friday were whited out. The redacted files are believed to include things like transcripts of grand jury testimony, which remain under wraps because of grand jury secrecy rules.

Other information visible to the public includes passages from former Vice President Mike Pence’s book, excerpts of testimony provided by several witnesses to the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot and a transcript of Trump’s phone call pressuring Georgia election officials to “find” enough votes to reverse his election loss in the state to Democrat Joe Biden.

Other documents include fundraising emails from Trump’s 2020 campaign and Pence’s letter telling Congress on Jan. 6 that he could not claim “unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.”

The filing was submitted as a series of appendices to a 165-page brief unsealed this month in which prosecutors disclosed new evidence against Trump to support their argument that the former president is not entitled to immunity from prosecution.

Trump’s lawyers objected to the unsealing of the filing so close to next month’s presidential election, but Chutkan on Thursday rejected their bid to postpone the material from becoming public until after the election. She said it would be inappropriate to take the political calendar into account.

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