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Prosecutors seek to bar Trump from injecting politics into federal election interference trial

Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith is asking a judge to bar Donald Trump's lawyers from injecting politics into the former president's trial on charges that he schemed to overturn the 2020 election.

Smith's office says in a court filing Wednesday that Trump's lawyers should be prevented from "raising irrelevant political issues or arguments in front of the jury," including that the prosecution is vindictive and selective or was coordinated by President Joe Biden.

The motion to preclude Trump from introducing broad categories of arguments is a way for prosecutors to try to set parameters on what information they believe the jury should, or should not, hear when the case reaches trial.