Federal prosecutors have presented their most detailed case to date against former President Donald Trump regarding his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. A 165-page legal brief was unsealed by a federal judge on Wednesday, revealing new insights into Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to influence state officials and promote a narrative of widespread election fraud, which prosecutors assert Trump knew to be false.
The document, released just weeks before the upcoming election where Trump is vying for the presidency again, highlights his deteriorating relationship with former Vice President Mike Pence, FBI findings on Trump’s phone usage during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, and discussions with family members as he grappled with his electoral defeat to Joe Biden.
In response to a Supreme Court ruling this summer that provided Trump with broad immunity for actions taken while in office, Smith argues that Trump’s actions were as a political candidate rather than as president, thus disqualifying him from the protections identified by the justices.
“When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office,” Jack Smith states in the brief, which was partially redacted upon release by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. The brief outlines that Trump’s efforts involved using private individuals and campaign resources to try to overturn the election results.
The filing includes testimonies from key witnesses before a federal grand jury and FBI findings regarding Trump’s conduct before and during January 6. The release of this motion marks a significant development in Smith’s pursuit to prosecute Trump for his attempts to reverse the 2020 election, even as Trump campaigns for a second term against Vice President Kamala Harris. The case has previously reached the Supreme Court and has been delayed as Trump seeks to postpone the prosecution until after next month’s election.
The document consists of four parts: an overview of the evidence prosecutors plan to present at trial; a guide for the judge to differentiate between official actions potentially covered by immunity and those that are not; an application of these principles to Trump’s case; and a conclusion requesting the judge to rule that Trump’s actions are not protected by immunity, making him subject to trial on the superseding indictment.
Further evidence could emerge soon, as a substantial appendix accompanying the filing remains sealed. The judge has requested both parties to discuss how much of this material should be made public. This appendix reportedly includes grand jury transcripts and notes from FBI interviews conducted during the lengthy investigation.
Trump’s legal team had sought to block the document’s release, and the former president referred to it as a “hit job,” alleging without evidence that its timing was politically motivated in response to a recent vice presidential debate.
“Democrats are weaponizing the Justice Department against me because they know I am WINNING, and they are desperate to prop up their failing candidate, Kamala Harris. The DOJ pushed out this latest ‘hit job’ today because JD Vance humiliated Tim Walz last night in the debate,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
On Wednesday, Trump requested additional time and more pages to respond to Smith’s brief, arguing that the case should be dismissed based on the Supreme Court’s ruling granting him some immunity. He asked for a five-week extension, pushing the deadline to November 21, claiming that he should be allowed to file a response four times the usual page limit that Smith received. Trump also requested permission to submit an extra brief in the ongoing discussion of the immunity issues, allowing him to provide a final rebuttal to Smith’s arguments regarding the matter.
“President Trump must have an equal opportunity to submit and address facts bearing on immunity and to rebut the Special Counsel’s misleading submissions,” his new request stated. “Accordingly, the Court should grant President Trump leave to file a 180-page Response.”
