Jack Smith calls out Trump-appointed judge’s 'clear error' in election interference case

Special counsel Jack Smith is dealing with two very different judges in his federal prosecutions of former President Donald Trump.

Judge Tanya Chutkan, assigned to Smith's election interference case, is the Barack Obama appointee who forcefully wrote that Trump does not enjoy a "divine right of kings." In contrast, Judge Aileen Cannon, the Florida-based Trump appointee assigned to Smith's Mar-a-Lago documents case, has, at times, been a source of frustration to Trump's critics — including Smith, who believes that Cannon has made a "clear error" by deciding to release, in unredacted form, discovery material in the case at the request of Trump and his legal team.

That decision, Smith warned in a court filing, could endanger potential witnesses.

READ MORE:New Jack Smith filing tears apart Trump’s 'speculative, unsupported and false theories'

The special counsel wrote, "That discovery material, if publicly docketed in unredacted form as the Court has ordered, would disclose the identities of numerous potential witnesses, along with the substance of the statements they made to the FBI or the grand jury, exposing them to significant and immediate risks of threats, intimidation, and harassment, as has already happened to witnesses, law enforcement agents, judicial officers, and Department of Justice employees whose identities have been disclosed in cases in which defendant Trump is involved."

Newsweek crime/courts reporter Sean O'Driscoll notes that there have been "significant threats to court officials" in other criminal cases against Trump, including Smith and Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' election interference indictments.

"(Smith) said (Cannon's) decision to release the documents to the public was wrong and that Cannon wrongly stated that the government must show a compelling interest in keeping documents private," O'Driscoll explains. "Smith wrote that this standard does not apply to discovery documents."

Discovery is the process in which attorneys on opposing sides in a case must share evidence.

READ MORE:Judge Aileen Cannon called out for wasting time on Trump’s 'frivolous' pleadings

Read Newsweek's full report at this link.