Former President Donald Trump‘s lawyers are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the federal prosecutors accusing him of a conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election, according to Monday night court filings that effectively amount to a long-shot bid to relitigate his election fraud claims and more.
In a pair of motions filed Monday night that listed at least 59 demands, Trump lawyers John Lauro and Todd Blanche asked for troves of materials from U.S. intelligence agencies and the Justice Department on whether there were any “undercover agents” or “informants” for the government at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
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“Please provide all documents regarding informants, cooperators, undercover agents, or anyone acting in a similar capacity on behalf or at the behest of the Department of Justice or any law enforcement agency” who were within 5 miles of the Capitol that day, and information about anyone involved in the “assistance, planning or encouragement of any activities related to the protest, breach, or trespassing” at the Capitol, the attorneys wrote under “Exhibit 2” of their request.
Moreover, the filing argued Trump is entitled to all information related to “foreign influence efforts targeting the 2020 election,” pointing to documented efforts by foreign actors to interfere in the 2016 election, which he won against Hillary Clinton.
Trump’s team additionally asked government prosecutors to hand over communications between President Joe Biden and family members, including his son, Hunter Biden. His lawyers also want information about the DOJ’s interactions with Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence.
The defense team’s filings came at the Nov. 27 deadline to file any motions to compel the prosecution to produce discovery evidence relevant to the case. Smith’s office can oppose those motions by Dec. 11, and the defense can file any replies in support by Dec. 18.
In regard to the request for intelligence agency information related to Jan. 6, Trump’s lawyers made an effort to say they do not endorse or back the “Fedsurrection” conspiracy that purports government operatives were organizing the riot at the Capitol.
“Rather, in this case, information regarding individuals who were present in an official capacity is favorable to President Trump because it suggests that there were adequate controls in place and that the violence at issue resulted from a failure of those controls and/or failed sting operations rather than any directions from President Trump,” his lawyers wrote.
Although Smith’s team is required to hand over evidence it has already collected that may help Trump’s defense, it is only required to turn in records available to the special counsel’s team, which may not have access to the information Trump is seeking.
A separate filing more generally asks the judge to force Smith to produce discovery that has been designated as “Sensitive” under a protective order in the case. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, previously gave favor to Smith in his request to designate witness interviews and recordings as sensitive materials not accessible by the defense.
Chutkan on Monday also denied Trump’s bid to subpoena lawmakers for information he alleged was missing from the Jan. 6 committee archives, rejecting his effort as a “fishing expedition.”
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as the special counsel overseeing the Trump investigation in November 2022, months after the DOJ obtained a search warrant to retrieve classified documents in a separate inquiry into Trump’s alleged mishandling of such materials.
Since his August indictment in the Washington, D.C., case, Trump’s team has made clear they desire to have a jury trial after the 2024 election, despite Chutkan deciding that the trial will begin on March 4, the day before a massive wave of primary voting on Super Tuesday.
Defense lawyers since then have taken every opportunity to file motions demanding more evidence, sometimes outside the scope of the case, to ensure full preparation ahead of a trial date they contend is too soon and would amount to political interference during an election year. Meanwhile, a separate appeal is inching toward the Supreme Court over Trump’s disagreement with a narrow gag order that has been placed against him.
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The motions filed in Chutkan’s court pertain to Smith’s indictment of Trump in Washington, D.C., which levies four felony counts against the former president for allegedly engaging in a “conspiracy” to overturn Biden’s 2020 election win.
Trump, who is battling four separate criminal indictments, is facing counts in the Jan. 6 case that include conspiracy to defraud the United States, two counts related to obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights for efforts that would deny the counting of lawful votes. He has pleaded not guilty to all 91 charges he faces across the four separate indictments, which include two federal cases and two state cases in New York and Georgia, respectively.
Read the filings below, and click here to access the 25 cumulative exhibits attached to both filings:
