Special Counsel Jack Smith has called out Donald Trump’s defence team for appearing to forget how long ago the January 6 Capitol riots took place.
In a new legal filing, the prosecutor criticised the former president’s attorneys for writing that Mr Smith’s team “has been investigating this matter for three and a half years, while the defense is starting with a blank slate”.
“Not only is this claim impossible, as January 6, 2021, was two and a half years ago, but it is disingenuous,” the Special Counsel’s office wrote.
The defence claim also attracted the attention of social media users, with Scott MacFarlane of CBS tweeting: “I’ve seen many math mistakes in assorted Jan 6 defense court filings over the years. But this one is a whopper.”
This came as the prosecution and Mr Trump came to blows over their proposed dates for Mr Trump to be tried on charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
On Thursday, Mr Smith proposed a trial date of 2 January 2024, less than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
In the filing, he said its “case in chief will take no longer than four to six weeks”.
Mr Trump lashed out at the suggested scheduling, writing on Truth Social that “Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses”.
“Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA!” he added. “Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION. The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”
Senior Assistant Special Counsels Molly Gaston and Thomas Windom wrote in an eight-page filing that the timeline for a 2 January trial would provide the defence with ample time to prepare their case and review the evidence. The government has said they’re ready to hand over evidence during the discovery process.
They said the 2 January date would “most importantly ... vindicate the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial,” adding that this was “of particular significance” as the ex-president has been “charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens’ legitimate votes”.
Former President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before boarding his plane at Ronald Reagan Washington Airport after his arraignment— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
“A January 2, 2024, trial date represents an appropriately speedy trial in the public interest and in the interests of justice, while affording the defendant time to prepare his defense and raise pre-trial legal issues with the Court,” they wrote.
The Special Counsel’s office has also called out Mr Trump’s defence team for attempting to litigate the case via the media.
John Lauro, Mr Trump’s lead attorney in the case, has made a number of media appearances following the former president’s indictment in the case related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Some of the statements he made were then quoted in a filing by the Special Counsel.
“It appears that [the] defense counsel is already planning which motions the defendant will file,” the prosecution wrote, citing Mr Lauro’s 6 August appearance on CBS News when he said: “[W]e’re going to be identifying and litigating a number of motions that we’re going to file on First Amendment grounds, or the fact that President Trump is immune as president from being prosecuted in this way.”
It was in this same filing that the Special Counsel called out the defence team’s “disingenuous” and inaccurate claim that the prosecution has worked on this case for three-and-a-half years despite the insurrection being less than three years ago.
