WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Wednesday made public a court filing in which federal prosecutors laid out their evidence accusing former President Donald Trump of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
The 165-page filing is likely the last opportunity for prosecutors to detail their case against Trump before the Nov. 5 election given there will not be a trial before Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Prosecutors laid out details including an allegation that a White House staffer heard Trump tell family members that it did not matter if he won or lost the election “You still have to fight like hell.”
Trump has pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges accusing him of a conspiracy to obstruct the congressional certification of the election, defraud the U.S. out of accurate results and interfere with Americans’ voting rights.
Prosecutors working with Special Counsel Jack Smith divulged their evidence to make the case that the remaining allegations against Trump survive the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions taken as president.
Prosecutors have said the filing will discuss new evidence, including transcripts of witness interviews and grand jury testimony, but much of that material will not be made public until a trial.
Senior officials in Trump’s administration including former Vice President Mike Pence and White House chief-of-staff Mark Meadows appeared before the grand jury during the investigation.
Prosecutors submitted the court filing on Thursday, but U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan had to approve proposed redactions before it was made public.
Trump’s lawyers opposed allowing Smith to issue a sweeping court filing laying out their evidence, arguing it would be inappropriate to do so weeks before the election. They have argued the entire case should be tossed out based on the Supreme Court’s ruling.
If Trump wins the election, he is likely to direct the Justice Department to drop the charges.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis)
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