More than 25 witnesses withheld information, asserting attorney-client privilege, in the federal case into 2020 election interference, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office said in a court filing Tuesday.
In the filing in the U.S. District Court for DC, Smith requests that Judge Tanya Chutkan order the legal team for former President Trump to disclose by December whether he plans to argue at his trial that he relied on advice of counsel in his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to four criminal counts surrounding attempts to overturn the 2020 Presidential election, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
Chutkan set a March 4 trial date in the case—one of four prosecutions the former President is facing amid a total of 91 criminal counts at both the state—New York and Georgia—and federal levels.
Also on Tuesday, Smith filed a separate motion asking Judge Chutkan to conceal the identities of prospective jurors in the case, citing Trump’s recent attacks on court personnel.
Last week, New York State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron issued a gag order in Trump’s civil fraud trial “on all parties with respect to posting or publicly speaking” about “any” member of his staff after Trump forwarded a social media post falsely accusing Engoron’s clerk of being the “girlfriend” of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
