While Special Counsel Jack Smith has had an unbelievably bad stretch in his pursuance of former President Donald Trump on the legal front, it appears he's up to something big.
According to Law & Crime, the judge overseeing the Jan. 6 election interference case against Trump made an eye-raising move this week.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan reportedly entered a "completely classified and redacted one-page order onto the docket," making many wonder why the sudden secrecy in the case.
The case has only recently been revived by Smith in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that granted Trump a high level of immunity in being persecuted.
The outlet speculated that the classified filing could be related to pretrial evidence.
Law & Crime noted:
While impossible to know for certain at this juncture, it seems all too likely that the order’s contents include key pretrial evidence ordered to be kept under wraps in light of guidelines Chutkan set down in August 2023.
The outlet continued:
Significantly, prosecutors have long said that there is only a small amount of classified information underlying the Jan. 6 criminal case against Trump. When special counsel Jack Smith‘s legal team raised concerns last year that Trump’s public commentary on the case may intimidate witnesses or that he would disseminate grand jury materials to do the same, Chutkan set down a nuanced protective order governing discovery and grand jury materials following an Aug. 11, 2023 hearing.
While court observers are dying to know exactly what was entered by the judge, the outlet noted that Chutkan is a huge advocate of transparency and will only redact the most necessary elements of evidence.
It said that's especially true when it comes to such information being sensitive enough that it would protect the courtroom or witnesses tied to the case.
While Special Counsel Jack Smith is obviously up to something, two days ago, Newsweek reported that Trump and his lawyers are seeking to use classified documents for his defense.
In a boon to Trump's defense, the judge granted the use of some classified documents for his defense.
It was not made clear to what degree or what the contents of the documents were.
Clearly, both sides are once again gearing up for a major legal battle. Only time will tell who emerges victorious.
