Judge Chutkan Scolds Trump Lawyers in New Order
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan scolded former President Donald Trump‘s lawyers while granting them an extension to a missed deadline for filing documents in Trump’s federal election subversion case.
Lawyers John Lauro, Todd Blanche, Gregory Singer and Emil Bove submitted an unopposed motion for leave to file multiple documents in Trump’s case on Thursday night after missing a 5 p.m. deadline, explaining that “defense counsel set an internal deadline” and they “did not realize that the Court had adjusted the time in which to file.”
Trump’s legal team noted that special counsel Jack Smith, who indicted the former president on four felony counts accusing him of attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, approved of the deadline extension request, while promising to “ensure” that future filings are submitted by 5 p.m. deadlines.
Chutkan granted the request in a brief order on Friday, while seemingly chiding the Trump lawyers: “Going forward, the parties should seek any needed extensions of time before the deadline.”
Trump lawyers John Lauro and Todd Blanche are pictured outside court in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 2023, while U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is shown in the inset. Chutkan seemingly scolded the Trump lawyers after they missed a filing deadline in the former president’s federal election subversion case this week, while also granting them an extension.
Win McNamee; Alex Wong
Lawyer and MSNBC host Katie Phang described the comment from Chutkan as a “zinger” in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
A scheduling order from Chutkan that was filed on September 5 appears to clearly show a 5 p.m. Eastern Time deadline for all filings.
Newsweek reached out for comment to Lauro and Blanche via email on Friday.
In a 30-page filing submitted on Thursday night, Trump’s team asked Chutkan to “reconsider and pause the current schedule,” while also demanding she dismiss the case “promptly.”
Earlier this month, Chutkan sided with Smith in scheduling pretrial hearings and deadlines, rejecting a request from Trump’s legal team to push back any deadlines and hearings until after November’s presidential election.
Chutkan sparred with Lauro during a Washington, D.C., court hearing before making her decision, with the ex-president’s attorney arguing that the judge should consider that election season is a “sensitive time” while deciding the schedule.
“This court is not concerned with the electoral schedule,” Chutkan responded, according to CNN. “I am not talking about the presidency … I am talking about a four-count indictment.”
“The subtext of your argument here about these sensitive times … it strikes me that what you’re trying to do is affect the presentation of this case so as not to impinge on an election,” she continued.
Smith filed an updated indictment late last month, retooling the case to comply with the Supreme Court‘s recent ruling granting presidential immunity while conducting certain “official” acts.
The new indictment removes all accusations leveled against Trump regarding attempts to pressure the Department of Justice to falsely declare that Biden’s 2020 election win was the result of massive fraud.
Trump, who in May was convicted of 34 unrelated felony charges in New York, has pleaded not guilty and claims that all of the criminal and legal proceedings against him are part of a political “witch hunt.”