On Saturday, a federal judge shot down a request from former President Donald Trump’s legal team for a deadline extension over the handling of evidence in the 2020 election subversion case.
Trump’s lawyers will have to respond by Monday at 5 PM EST to the Justice Department’s proposal for a protective order. Trump’s lawyers asked to have until Thursday to respond, and suggested a hearing on the matter might be necessary.
The decision from US District Judge Tanya Chutkan caps a tense series of actions early in the case after special counsel Jack Smith’s team requested that limits be set on what Trump’s team can do with the evidence that will be shared with them. Their request pointed to a post by Trump that they say shows he may speak publicly on sensitive legal information.
“And in recent days, regarding this case, the defendant has issued multiple posts—either specifically or by implication—including the following, which the defendant posted just hours ago,” the special counsel’s office wrote, including a screenshot of the Truth Social post from Trump that read: “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”
Prosecutors for Smith called Trump’s call for a deadline unnecessary and said the defendant is “standing in the way” of the case. Trump’s legal team has a history of delaying litigation, so this just be phase one of a long battle.
