Washington – The federal judge overseeing the case of former President Donald Trump after the 2020 election set a schedule for the next steps in the prosecution after the Supreme Court decision that Trump loves immunity for “official actions” he took while in the White House.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order that mostly fits the timeline proposed by special counsel Jack Smith, hours after both sides. meet in her courtroom was earlier. Trump is charged with four counts related to the alleged efforts to overthrow the election results, including the conspiracy to deceive the US
He pleaded not guilty to the charges again, but waived his presence before the court on Friday.
said Chutkan
The judge’s order rejected a timetable set by Trump’s lawyers that would have extended the pretrial process to the spring or fall of 2025 — well after the November presidential election.
Smith and his team have been pushing discussions about immunity to be held along with motions and other issues to be dealt with by the former president’s legal team.
Chutkan ordered federal prosecutors to turn over to Trump’s team all the necessary evidence by September 10, and gave Smith’s team until September 26 to submit an opening brief presenting their arguments about the president’s immunity. Smith’s prosecutors said in court Thursday that the immunity filing will include new information not included in the indictment. Chutkan’s order paves the way for the material to become public before the November election.
The judge set an Oct. 17 deadline for the Trump team to respond to the special counsel’s arguments and submit its own request to dismiss the indictment on immunity grounds. The government then has until October 29 to file its response.
Chutkan wrote in the two-page order that if the file on the immunity issue is submitted, he will decide whether additional proceedings are necessary.
The judge also said that the submission of the Trump team that must be submitted by September 19 must include “any specific evidence related to the immunity of the president” that the former president believes the prosecutor improperly withheld.
The order also states that Trump has until Oct. 24 to ask the court to allow him to file a motion to dismiss the case over claims Smith’s appointment and funding were illegal. The special counsel and his team have until October 31 to submit papers opposing this request.
Thursday hearing
The case comes months after the Supreme Court found that the president has absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts that are part of his “core constitutional powers,” and presumptive immunity for acts that are official but outside his “exclusive authority.” ” Private actions have no immunity.
High court resubmitted the case to Chutkan for further processing. The judge held a hearing with Trump’s attorney and prosecutor Smith on Thursday where they argued over the timeline and how the Supreme Court ruling should apply to Trump’s alleged actions. Smith’s team amended the indictment against Trump last week to comply with the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
In the hearing, Chutkan and John Lauro, Trump’s lawyer, sparred about whether some of the actions included in the new indictment – namely the former president’s conversations with Vice President Mike Pence after the 2020 election – have been covered by presidential immunity.
Lauro argued that the case should be thrown out despite the flimsy allegations because Trump’s discussions with Pence should be considered an official act and therefore not prosecuted.
But Chutkan said the conversation may have been affected by immunity, a lesser form of protection that federal prosecutors can challenge. Whether Trump and Pence’s interactions were outside of the former president’s official duties will be up to him, the judge said.
He also explained that the upcoming elections will not decide how the case will be handled. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, is seeking to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in November to secure a second term in the White House.
“The electoral process … is irrelevant here,” Chutkan told Lauro. “This court doesn’t care about election schedules.”
Repeated warnings from Trump’s lawyers about the “heavy” and “grave” issues before the court got Chutkan’s condemnation.
“I’m surprised that what you’re trying to do is influence the presentation of evidence in this case so it doesn’t interfere with the election,” he said. “I didn’t consider that.”
The hearing, and Chutkan’s order, reiterated that a trial in the case would not take place before the November election. Chutkan said any decision he made in implementing the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling would be appealed, causing another delay in the process.
Discussing a trial date would be an “exercise in futility,” he said.