Special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday asked a judge to bar former President Donald Trump’s legal team from using political talking points at his upcoming election subversion trial in Washington D.C. In a 20-page filing, Smith and his team of prosecutors wrote to U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, arguing that Trump’s attorneys should not be permitted to raise “irrelevant political issues or arguments in front of the jury,” like his claim that he is the target of a "selective and vindictive prosecution," according to The Hill.
“In addition to being wrong, these allegations are irrelevant to the jury’s determination of the defendant’s guilt or innocence, would be prejudicial if presented to the jury, and must be excluded,” Smith’s team stated. “Although the defendant is entitled to cross-examine the Government’s law enforcement witnesses about matters fairly within the scope of their direct testimony, he cannot raise wholly irrelevant topics in an effort to confuse and distract the jury,” prosecutors added. “Much as the defendant would like it otherwise, this trial should be about the facts and the law, not politics.”
