Federal judge rejects Trump’s bid to delay release of special counsel documents in 2020 election subversion case

A federal judge has rejected Donald Trump’s request to pause the public release of documents from the Justice Department in the 2020 election subversion case against him, saying that withholding it could be seen as election interference.

The former president’s attorneys asked the judge, Tanya Chutkan, to hold off on releasing the filing – an appendix related to special counsel Jack Smith’s expansive immunity filing, which laid out many details of the case against Trump – until after the November presidential election.

The defense attorneys argued that the case has already had an “improper impact on the election” and a stay on the filing “would promote public confidence” in the court.

If no stay was imposed, the attorneys argued, “the asymmetric release of charged allegations and related documents during early voting creates a concerning appearance of election interference.”

Chutkan, in her opinion and order, said the very opposite was true.

“If the court withheld information that the public otherwise had a right to access solely because of the potential political consequences of releasing it, that withholding could itself constitute—or appear to be— election interference,” the judge wrote.

Chutkan continued: “The court will therefore continue to keep political considerations out of its decision-making, rather than incorporating them as Defendant requests.”

The appendix – which could include large swaths of redactions – will be released Friday, the judge said.

In a statement to CNN, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung slammed the decision, arguing that the case should be thrown out.

“As mandated by the Supreme Court’s historic decision on Presidential Immunity and other vital jurisprudence, this entire case is a sham and a partisan, Unconstitutional Witch Hunt that should be dismissed entirely,” Cheung said.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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