The federal judge overseeing the election interference case against Donald Trump has directed prosecutors to search for and provide any Justice Department information related to a separate investigation into Mike Pence’s handling of classified documents. Trump’s lawyers argued that this information could be relevant to their defense as it may show that Pence had an incentive to implicate Trump while facing his own investigation. The judge ordered prosecutors to produce any additional records on the Pence investigation, noting that evidence of a witness’s uncharged conduct could undermine their credibility.
The judge’s order mostly rejected the categories of evidence that Trump had requested from prosecutors, stating that his lawyers had not sufficiently demonstrated the relevance of the information to his defense against charges of illegally scheming to overturn the 2020 election results. This included documents related to the election and the January 6, 2021, riot, as well as details regarding foreign actors’ efforts to influence the election. The judge determined that information about foreign entities working to influence the American public in 2020 was irrelevant to the current case.
Pence appeared before a grand jury investigating Trump in April 2023 after a federal appeals court rejected an effort by Trump’s lawyers to block his testimony on executive privilege grounds. The Justice Department informed Pence’s lawyers in June that he would not face criminal charges following the discovery of classified documents at his home. Chutkan directed prosecutors to produce information related to a meeting Pence had with military officials about Capitol security on January 6, 2021, and the information reviewed by Trump’s national intelligence director before he was interviewed by prosecutors.
It remains unclear when or if the election interference case against Trump will reach trial in light of a Supreme Court opinion in July that granted broad immunity to former presidents and narrowed the scope of allegations against him. Chutkan is now responsible for determining which of the prosecution’s claims against Trump can proceed in the case, a process that is likely to result in further appeals. If Trump is elected, his new attorney general would likely seek the dismissal of the case.
