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U.S. District Judge Tanya #Chutkan has signed off on #SpecialCounsel #JackSmith's request to file an oversized opening brief regarding #immunity issues as the federal election subversion case against #Trump presses forward.

Smith's office alerted the court over the wknd that it was seeking to file a 180-page brief regarding how #SCOTUS’ ruling regarding presidential immunity impacts the charges against Trump, who is facing 4 #felony counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

#Trump's defense team argued in a motion on Monday that the "fundamentally unfair" request from Smith should be shot down by Chutkan, in part because the brief's page count is over 4X what opening briefs are usually confined to before the DC court system. [otherwise known as the waaaaahhh!! defense]

But #Chuktan wrote in her order a day later that the court would grant Smith's request "to file an oversized brief" & shot down the defense's arguments about the legality of the briefing.

"Allowing a brief from the Government is not 'contrary to law procedure, & custom,' as Defendant claims...it is simply how litigation works," read #Chutkan’s order in part.

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25173574/chutkangrant.pdf

The 180 pg brief, part of the legal debate surrounding #Trump’s #immunity claims, will contain a detailed factual proffer, along w/ numerous exhibits related to Trump’s alleged conduct. This #evidence is intended to assist the court in conducting a fact-specific analysis, a directive handed down by #SCOTUS after remanding the case for further proceedings to determine which of Trump’s acts were unofficial & not covered by their broad interpretation of presidential immunity.

Judge #Chutkan, in her ruling, emphasized that #Trump’s political concerns over the timing of the #evidence release had no bearing on the court’s decision. She noted that the judicial process must proceed without regard to the #election calendar, stating, “what needs to happen before or shouldn’t happen before the election is not relevant here.”

Chutkan's order also denied Trump’s repeated requests to #delay the pretrial schedule, ensuring that the case will continue to move forward.

#Trump’s legal team had also objected to the length of the brief. Judge Chutkan dismissed this argument, noting the "challenging" & fact-bound nature of the issues that required such a comprehensive filing.

Trump’s defense raised concerns that the brief’s release could influence public opinion & impact his candidacy. Chutkan rejected these claims, asserting that they did not show any legal prejudice to Trump.