Trump files motion to hold Biden's special counsel Jack Smith in contempt of court for repeated filings during pause on case

Former President Donald Trump and his team filed a motion to hold special counsel Jack Smith in contempt of court on Thursday in the case relating to the 2020 election and January 6.  

Last month, Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered a pause on legal filings in the case against Trump. After the stay order was put into place, Special Counsel Smith filed on Dec. 27 asking Chutkan to limit Trump from engaging in "partisan political attacks." 

In the filing that Smith's team pushed through, a footnote was written in that acknowledged the pause and said the filing could be done when the case resumed. Despite the note, Trump's lawyers said that the motion could not be brought to the court.  

"All substantive proceedings in this court are halted. Despite this clarity, the prosecutors began violating the stay almost immediately," wrote attorney John Lauro in the motion. 

Trump team's cited multiple examples of Smith's team violating the pause put into place by Judge Chutkan.  

"First, within five days of the Court entering the Stay Order, the prosecutors served thousands of pages of additional discovery, together with a purported draft exhibit list," the motion read.  

Trump's team issued a warning after this first violation of the stay order from Smith's team.  

The motion from Trump's team then reads, "Ignoring this warning, the prosecutors filed an expansive motion in limine less than 10 days later. This document teems with partisan rhetoric, including false claims that President Trump “propagates irrelevant disinformation” both “within the courtroom” and "outside of it." 

Trump's legal team argued that for this, Smith's team should be held in contempt and pay "reasonable attorneys' fees" for their conduct.  

In addition, Trump's attorneys brought up in the motion that the prosecutors in the case have announced their intention to continue this partisan-driven misconduct indefinitely, effectively converting this Court's docket into an arm of the Biden Campaign." 

The stay order from Chutkan reads that further measures to "move [the] case forward" are to pause “pending appeal” of the case.  

According to ABC News, people close to the former president said that they expect the court dates in the 2020 election case to start interfering with the primaries coming up, which could affect his ability to manage the campaign.