Jack Smith asks judge to keep Donald Trump from making 'partisan political attacks' in 2020 election trial

WASHINGTON — The office of special counsel Jack Smith asked a judge Wednesday to forbid former President Donald Trump from making false claims in the courtroom that the charges he faces over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election are politically motivated.

"The defense has attempted to inject into this case partisan political attacks and irrelevant and prejudicial issues that have no place in a jury trial," said a legal filing from Smith's office to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Trump and his lawyers have long tried to delay the trial and asked appeals judges to throw out the case, claiming he is immune from prosecution for actions taken as president.

In a written statement, Trump said Wednesday that Smith is "obsessed" with him and "ignoring the law and clear instructions from District Court Judge Chutkan, who unequivocally stated that this 'case' is stayed and there should be no litigation. Period."

Chutkan had scheduled a trial for March, but that timetable is up in the air because of the 2024 Republican frontrunner's pre-trial maneuvers. Trump is also trying to delay three other trials against him during the 2024 election year.

In Washington, a federal grand jury indicted Trump on charges of engaging in a conspiracy to steal the 2020 election from the rightful winner, President Joe Biden.

Trump has argued without evidence that the case is politically motivated and designed to thwart his 2024 reelection bid. He has also made repeated claims of alleged "voter fraud" in 2020 that have not been proven true.

Molly Gaston, an assistant to Smith, said in Wednesday's filing that Trump also shouldn't be allowed to engage in conspiracy theories during the trial.

“The court should not permit the defendant to turn the courtroom into a forum in which he propagates irrelevant disinformation, and should reject his attempt to inject politics into this proceeding," the filing said. It also asks the judge in the case to prevent the Trump legal team from claiming there were outside provocateurs involved in the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.

The filing alleged Trump "intends to impeach the integrity of the investigation by raising wholly false claims such as the government's nonexistent 'coordination with the Biden administration' and other empty allegations."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jack Smith targets 'political attacks' in Donald Trump's 2020 trial