Trump urges judge to hold special counsel in contempt

Former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Thursday argued in a court filing that prosecutors had violated a temporary hold on a case against their client. Trump’s lawyers say that Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s team filed pretrial motions against the former president despite a temporary hold on the case ordered by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan while appeals against the case played out.

What case is this related to? Judge Chutkan on Dec. 13 issued a temporary hold on the case related to charges alleging Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Smith asked the U.S. Supreme Court to quickly provide a definitive ruling that presidential immunity doesn’t protect Trump from charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. The court refused to hear the case before lower courts did, and Trump has appealed to a lower appeals court.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about House Republicans formalizing their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.