The MeidasTouch Podcast - Jack Smith SURGICALLY DISMANTLES Trump’s Latest Frivolous Motion

Episode Date: October 19, 2023

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s opposition to Donald Trump’s request to access classified documents in the Washington DC federal case before judge Tanya Chutkan. MASTERWORKS: Skip the waitlist and invest in blue-chip art for the very first time by signing up for Masterworks: https://www.masterworks.art/meidas Purchase shares in great masterpieces from artists like Pablo Picasso, Banksy, Andy Warhol, and more. How Masterworks works: -Create your account with your traditional bank account -Pick major works of art to invest in or our new blue-chip diversified art portfolio -Identify investment amount -Hold shares in works by Picasso or trade them in our secondary marketplace See important Masterworks disclosures: https://www.masterworks.com/about/disclaimer?utm_source=meidastouch&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=2-17-23&utm_term=Meidas+Touch+Subscriber&utm_content=disclaimer Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://pod.link/1510240831 Legal AF: https://pod.link/1580828595 The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://pod.link/1595408601 The Influence Continuum: https://pod.link/1603773245 Kremlin File: https://pod.link/1575837599 Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://pod.link/1530639447 The Weekend Show: https://pod.link/1612691018 American Psyop: https://pod.link/1652143101 Burn the Boats: https://pod.link/1485464343 Majority 54: https://pod.link/1309354521 Political Beatdown: https://pod.link/1669634407 Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://pod.link/1676844320 Uncovered: https://pod.link/1690214260 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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free of charge bet mgm operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming ontario i'm ben mysellis from the Midas touch network special counsel jack smith just delivered another smackdown on donald trump's lawyers in federal court, this time in the Washington, D.C. federal court case where Judge Tanya Chutkin is presiding and Special Counsel Jack Smith's team states in a brief that they just filed in opposition to a bizarre and completely unlawful request by Donald Trump's lawyers to try to get access to SEPA Section 4 documentation, that's Classified Information Procedures Act documentation at special counsel. Jack Smith points out in schooling Donald Trump's lawyers in this opposition that there is no case law in the ex parte in-camera court proceedings to

review the classified documents or at least portions of the briefing regarding classified documents that are relating to the Washington, D.C. case. And they claim, look, Judge, we only want to look at it on an attorney's eyes only basis. Trust us, Judge Chutkin, we are not going to share it with Donald Trump at this stage. And Special Counsel Jack Smith says, hold on there. Let's just go through what SEPA Section 4 is. Let's talk about the relevant case law in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. What Donald Trump's lawyers are asking for is completely devoid of any legal support. And then Jack Smith proceeds to just step-by-step take down Donald Trump's lawyers.

We'll go through that in just a moment. Just to refresh your recollection, Midas Touch Network Watchers, you know that SEPA stands for the Classified Information Procedures Act, and it sets forth a whole host of procedures in how you handle documents, classified documents in criminal cases, because, of course, criminal defendants are entitled to discovery of documents from the prosecution, and they are entitled to what's called Brady material, material that tends to be exculpatory. The government is required to turn that over. But what happens in a criminal prosecution where there are documents that may

be highly classified, highly sensitive, where showing those documents to a criminal defendant poses a national security threat. In that case, the SEPA procedures kick in again, and they kick in in general of how you handle classified documents, where can you review the documents. They have to be reviewed in SCIFs, sensitiveensitive Compartmented Information Facilities. But what happens where there's a document that's so sensitive the government says, you know what? The national security interests here outweigh the relevance and helpfulness of this specific document to the criminal defendant. So is there something else we can do, Judge? Can we withhold that document under SEPA Section 4, perhaps replace it with a summation of what the document

stands for instead of turning over the document itself? Because the national security interests here far outweigh the relevance and helpfulness to the criminal defendant in this specific case. And the way this goes down in all of our courts is it's done on an ex parte basis. It's written in the statute SEPA, Classified Information Procedures Act, Section 4. And it says what goes down, like it's pretty clear what you do. And by ex parte in camera basically means the criminal defendant and the defense lawyers aren't involved in the proceedings. What it is is the government makes a showing to a federal judge. The federal judge reviews it on their own outside of the presence of defense counsel and then makes a determination

about if it satisfies the standards for SEPA section four and then fashions a remedy of should there be a summation of the documents, should the documents actually be turned over to the criminal defendant or something else. But the criminal defendant's lawyers are not involved in that process. And one of the things Judge Chutkin did, though, with a little degree of sarcasm, is initially when Donald Trump's lawyers said that they wanted to be involved in the SEPA Section 4 review, even though they're not entitled to be there, Judge Chutkin said, all right, I'll give the defense, this is a direct quote, an opportunity to explain why it believes that SEPA, classified information procedure act,

why it believes that SEPA's statutory text and our Court of Appeals circuit precedent do not govern this case. In other words, Judge Chutkin says, try to convince me, Donald Trump's lawyers, why the clear language of SIPA and why all of the things our Court of Appeals have said, why are you special? Explain that to me, but I'm open to it. Submit a brief. And Donald Trump's lawyers submitted a brief. It does not address what Judge Chutkin says. And so special counsel Jack Smith says, Donald Trump's team did not address what you requested. They misstate the law. They're just lying about things. They clearly don't know what SEPA is. They don't know SEPA section four. There's no reason to deviate from normal SEPA procedures. And also, as per usual, the economy was also a huge topic for

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Do we really think that Donald Trump's lawyers are arbiters of truth, competence, and integrity here? These were the same people that were arguing just the other day on Monday that a lot of Donald Trump's threats are perfectly acceptable. They thought it was fine. And ultimately, Your Honor imposed a gag order on Donald Trump. Here's what Special Counsel Jack Smith writes. Government's opposition to second defense motion for access to SEPA Section 4 filing. And just to be clear, while technical, it's technically a lawyer on Special Counsel Jack Smith's team. I just want to be very precise. Tom Windham, the lawyer, wrote this under special counsel Jack Smith's authority as well.

Here's what it says. In its memorandum opinion permitting Donald Trump, the criminal defendant, to move for access to the government's SEPA Section 4 filing, the court allowed the defense an opportunity to explain why it believes that SIPA's statutory text and circuit precedent do not govern this case. But the defendant Donald Trump's motion fails to provide any legitimate basis for the court to depart from the plain language of SIPA or this court's binding precedent. The court should deny the defendant's latest attempt to intrude in the ex parte SEPA section four process. So they go through the procedural history and then Jack Smith's team says, let me educate you, Donald Trump, on the law. Sit back and prepare to be schooled.

SEPA sets forth procedures at the pretrial, trial, and appellate stages of a criminal case to enable courts to protect defendants' rights to due process, including the right to a fair trial, and to protect the government's interest in classified information, sources, and methods. CEPA Section 4 authorizes the court to deny or otherwise restrict discovery by the defendant of classified documents and information belonging to the United States. Courts consistently have upheld the ex parte and in-camera nature. Remember, ex parte, basically theEPA hearing does not unfairly prejudice the defendant. Indeed, as the DC Circuit binding precedent has commented, this practice is analogous to other discovery determinations that a court may make in camera on its own or that prosecutors may make on their own. The standard this court must apply is delineated in

uniform case law, and this court should not deviate from the case law at issue. Defendant Donald Trump's lawyers are seeking unprecedented relief, access to any unclassified portions of the government SEPA section 4 motion so that he can review and respond in additional rounds of litigation not contemplated by the court's order. But he provides no legal authority and no basis to do so. And let me break it down, Judge, why this is so dangerous. First, the defendant points to no cases at all which allow for the type of procedure that they are requesting. Second, disclosing to the defendants even unclassified portions of SEPA Section 4 motions defeat the whole purpose of the SEPA Section 4 procedures. Third, and relatedly,

the motion's ultimate paragraph betrays the defendant's true intent to try to litigate the propriety of the government Section 4 motion, inviting the very sort of adversarial proceeding the D.C. Circuit represents. So, Judge, they're asking for access, but really what they're trying to do is attack the very nature of a SEPA Section 4 procedure at all. Fourth, the defendant misinterprets the case law in which he relies. And Jack Smith's being very nice there. I wouldn't say it's misinterpreted. In my opinion, it is just clearly providing incorrect case law. Fifth, since the defendant seeks only unclassified information, his contention that he should receive such information because his counsel have security clearances completely missed

the mark. And so Jack Smith just slices and dices and schools Donald Trump's lawyers. And there you have it, folks. Very confident Judge Chutkin is going to deny Donald Trump's lawyer's request here. SEPA Section 4 proceedings are going to take place, as they always do. You know, and it's interesting here because this is the Washington, D.C. case, not the Southern District of Florida case. Southern District of Florida case is the case involving Trump's theft of classified records. But here in the Washington, D.C. federal case, it involves Trump's attempt to overthrow

the results of the 2020 election. But there are highly classified documents that are potentially related to the case. And so that's why Jack Smith is holding the SEPA Section 4 proceedings because of those documents as well. Trial scheduled for March of 2024. Buckle up, folks, because come hell or high water, Judge Chutkin said she ain't moving that court date. I'm Ben Mysalis from the Midas Touch Network. Hit subscribe. We are on our way to 2 million subscribers

thanks to your support. Check us out at patreon.com slash Midas Touch. Have an amazing day. Hey, Midas Mighty. Love this report? Continue the conversation by following us on Instagram at Midas Touch to keep up with the most important news Have an amazing day.