Mystery Trump family member accused of withholding information from Jan 6 case

Special counsel Jack Smith did not identify person in question in motion filed with court examining former president’s alleged role in instigating Capitol riot as its third anniversary approaches

In a motion filed by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith in the January 6 case against Donald Trump in October, the prosecutor accused an unnamed “family member of the defendant” of withholding vital information.

The filing states that, over the course of the US government’s investigation, “at least 25 witnesses withheld information, communications, and documents based on assertions of the attorney-client privilege under circumstances where the privilege holder appears to be the defendant or his 2020 presidential campaign.

“These included co-conspirators, former campaign employees, the campaign itself, outside attorneys, a non-attorney intermediary, and even a family member of the defendant,” the filing said.

However, Mr Smith did not name the Trump family member and their identity remains a mystery.

The New York Times did report in February that the former president’s daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were subpoenaed by Mr Smith to testify before a federal grand jury about Mr Trump’s alleged plans to subvert the 2020 election in his favour.

The filing notes that Mr Trump and his attorneys discussed his intention to use the “advice-by-counsel” defence in trial on numerous TV appearances.

Mr Smith warned that “when a defendant invokes such a defence in court, he waives attorney-client privilege for all communications concerning that defence, and the government is entitled to additional discovery and may conduct further investigation, both of which may require further litigation and briefing”.

The special counsel urged federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, overseeing the Capitol riot case, to require Mr Trump to disclose his intention to raise the so-called “advice-of-counsel” defence, as well as “produce exhibits in support of an advice-of-counsel defence”.

If used, this pre-trial notice will provide Mr Smith’s team time to review the new discovery documents before the trial is set to begin in March 2024 without delaying the trial, the special counsel argued.

Judge Chutkan swiftly granted Mr Smith’s request.