U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan paused almost all proceedings concerning former President Donald Trump’s election interference case in D.C. as the courts above her decide on his claim that he has presidential immunity.
Jim wrote this morning that Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on Trump’s claim of presidential immunity.
Smith took the action after Trump filed an appeal of Chutkan’s denial of his motion to dismiss the charges due to immunity.
Trump also thinks the charges should be dismissed on constitutional grounds.
Therefore, Chutkan put a pause on the case, which could affect the March 4 trial date:
Chutkan ultimately controls the schedule for Trump’s trial, and she made an important decision on that front Wednesday to temporarily pause nearly all of the proceedings in front of her while courts above her resolve the question of whether a former president has immunity from criminal indictment.”If jurisdiction is returned to this court, it will — consistent with its duty to ensure both a speedy trial and fairness for all parties—consider at that time whether to retain or continue the dates of any still-future deadlines and proceedings, including the trial scheduled for March 4, 2024,” Chutkan wrote in her three-page opinion that paused various deadlines and proceedings but didn’t permanently vacate them.
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