Special counsel Jack Smith hailed as he shreds Donald Trump's 'relentless and misleading' attempt to delay classified documents case

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: Special counsel Jack Smith, in a new motion, shredded former President Donald Trump's attempts to indefinitely delay the classified documents mishandling case, as per Law & Crime.

Smith urged US District Judge Aileen Cannon to oppose the Republican frontrunner's attempt in a nine-page brief filed on Thursday, February 8.

The filing read, "Their objective is plain — to delay trial as long as possible. And the tactics they deploy are relentless and misleading — they will stop at nothing to stall the adjudication of the charges against them by a fair and impartial jury of citizens. The Court should promptly reject the defendants' motion."

Notably, Judge Cannon recently agreed to extend deadlines for various pretrial matters, potentially leading to a postponement of the tentative May 20 trial. In contrast, the special counsel wants to move as per schedule.

Jack Smith argues Donald Trump's demand to adjourn the case is to cause a delay

Trump's lawyers have filed a request to adjourn the case, including some 40 charges he is facing for withholding classified material in his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, citing presidential immunity.

Special counsel Smith's motion further noted, "The only purpose for such a frivolous motion, in this case, would be to artificially create a new avenue for potential delay, this time by attempting to manufacture an opportunity for a frivolous interlocutory appeal. It is another transparent effort to stall the trial."

The filing comes after a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, on February 6, denied Trump's claim to absolute immunity from prosecution for alleged offenses committed during his presidency.

Another reason put forth by Trump's attorney to delay the classified documents mishandling case was the prosecutors' January 26 disclosure of 2,100 pages of records.

Smith contradicted this reasoning, stating, "There is much that the defendants did not tell the Court in trotting out their complaint about the 2,100 pages. That is because the full story undermines their request. The government's recent production of materials was in response to a specific request by Trump."

Jack Smith asks Judge Aileen Cannon to reconsider her decision to protect the identities of numerous potential witnesses

Judge Cannon recently ordered the unsealing of redacted discovery records in the classified documents mishandling case that could unnecessarily expose witnesses.

According to The Hill, in another 22-page filing, Smith urged the judge to reconsider the decision to avoid potential threats and harassment.

"That discovery material, if publicly docketed in unredacted form as the Court has ordered, would disclose the identities of numerous potential witnesses, along with the substance of the statements they made to the FBI or the grand jury, exposing them to significant and immediate risks of threats, intimidation, and harassment," argued Smith.

Accusing the court of applying the "wrong legal standard," the special counsel urged the judge to revisit the warrant to "correct a clear error."

"Second, in addition to ensuring that the correct legal standard is applied, reconsideration is warranted to 'prevent manifest injustice'," added the filing. 

If Cannon's choice to unseal the records holds, it will reveal the identities of non-testifying witnesses, compromising their anonymity and privacy. Trump's team can respond to the prosecutor's request to reconsider the decision until February 23.

Internet reacts to Jack Smith filing a motion to stop delay in Donald Trump's classified documents mishandling case

Netizens praised special prosecutor Smith over his efforts to prevent any delays in the proceedings for the classified documents mishandling case. 

One said, "I can tell Smith is very efficient, Cannon has two strikes against her. A third strike should take her off Trump’s case," and another noted, "Everyone knows that she’s stalling, why doesn’t he request the 11th Circuit Court to remove her?"

 

A Reddit user pointed out, "If they are delayed long enough for him to get re-elected he may very well be saved from all these charges permanently," while someone else remarked, "The education of Justice Cannon continues. When is a special master appropriate? What are the rules of evidence?"

Another on Reddit mentioned, "The problem is That Cannon will also stop at nothing in order to delay."

"Jack clearly understands this case will be delayed indefinitely by a totally biased Cannon if she remains the judge in this case. So he has set a trap for her to disqualify herself. She will be removed from the case by March or sooner," opined one more. 

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