“The government is prepared, as soon as a protective order is entered in this case, to produce a substantial volume of discovery, including discovery that we are not obligated at this time to turn over,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Windom said at Trump’s arraignment. The point is to help Trump mount a defense in court, “not to wage a media campaign” or to allow his attorneys to breach court rules by making prejudicial out-of-court statements, Windom added in a filing.
Trump’s defense did not contest secrecy for grand jury information, sealed orders and search warrant returns. But they argued that the prosecution should clearly demarcate such sensitive information rather than insist on a blanket application to all material, such as interview reports that did not threaten witness security.
“Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President,” Chutkan wrote in November 2021 — expanding on a memorable line from a 2019 opinion by former district court colleague Ketanji Brown Jackson, since elevated by Biden to the Supreme Court. Chutkan noted that Biden had waived executive privilege, overcoming his predecessor’s attempt to invoke the confidentiality of presidential communications, a ruling left intact by higher courts.
Chutkan has taken a firm stance toward Trump’s attorneys regarding deadlines at the outset of his case — declining to a grant extensions to respond to the government’s late-night Aug. 4 motion for a protective order or for setting Friday’s hearing — and has earned a reputation as the toughest sentencer in the federal court in Washington of defendants charged in the riot.
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Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »