“Judge Drops a Bombshell: Ignores Election Drama in Pivotal Decision on Trump’s Jan. 6 Case!”

Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys and Special Counsel Jack Smith appeared in court Thursday morning as the case over Trump trying to overturn the 2020 election resumes following a months-long pause, as U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan considered how the case should move forward from here—and told Trump’s lawyers she’s “not concerned” with how the election could impact the case.

Key Facts

Trump has been charged on four felony counts based on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and prosecutors filed an updated indictment last week—with the same four charges but some slimmed-down details—after the Supreme Court gave the ex-president some immunity from criminal prosecution for any “official acts” he took while in office.

The case has been on pause in district court since December while the Supreme Court has determined the immunity issue, and Chutkan will now have to determine which of the allegations in the updated indictment are not covered by immunity and can be prosecuted before the case can go to trial.

The judge held a hearing Thursday after prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers submitted a status report on Friday proposing how the case should go forward, with Smith proposing a speedier timeline while while Trump’s lawyers sought to drag out the case, asking Chutkan to bump any decision on Trump’s immunity back until after the election.

Chutkan told Trump’s lawyers she’s “not concerned with the electoral schedule” in response to them trying to drag out the case, adding there “needs to be some forward motion in this case regardless of when an election is scheduled,” as quoted by NBC and CBS News.

The judge was resistant to the defense attorneys’ claims they were being treated “unfairly,” telling attorney John Lauro she “[doesn’t] need anymore rhetoric on how serious or grave this is” and responding to him protesting that the case concerned “the presidency of the United States” by saying, “I’m not talking about the presidency of the United States. I’m talking about a four-count indictment.”

Chutkan said it would be an “exercise in futility” to set a trial date in the case, according to Politico, given that Trump is likely to appeal any ruling she makes on immunity, which will pause the proceedings again.

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

Crucial Quote

Chutkan argued Thursday that by emphasizing the importance of the case and “these sensitive times … it strikes me that what you’re trying to do is affect the presentation of this case so as not to impinge on an election.” (Lauro disputed that, saying, “The decisions here will not just affect this case, it will affect the republic going forward,” according to CNN.)

What To Watch For

Chutkan did not rule on the schedule for the case going forward during Thursday’s hearing, but said she’ll issue the schedule as soon as Thursday afternoon.

Will The Case Go To Trial Before The Election?

No. Regardless of the schedule Chutkan sets based on Thursday’s hearing, it’s certain the case won’t go to trial before Election Day. Even if the judge does rule before then on what Trump can be charged with based on the immunity ruling, Trump is expected to then appeal that ruling—possibly all the way up to the Supreme Court—which will drag out the case again before it can go to trial. With two months to go before the election, it wouldn’t even matter if Trump didn’t appeal any immunity ruling, because Chutkan has previously suggested it will take about four months before the case can go to trial once the immunity concerns are out of the way, given other pretrial motions that still have to be dealt with. Smith has proposed submitting some of those while the immunity issue is also playing out, which could shorten the timing somewhat, but not enough for there to be a trial by November.

Surprising Fact

The public may learn some interesting information before then in any case. Smith has asked the judge to file a motion laying out how the new indictment complies with the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, which he said will include “additional unpled categories of evidence that the Government intends to introduce at trial,” which prosecutors said Thursday includes grand jury transcripts and other evidence. That means there might be new revelations about Trump’s post-election activity previously not made public. Chutkan still has to rule on whether prosecutors can submit that filing—which they said they could have ready in two to three weeks—as Trump’s lawyers want to request to dismiss the case first before prosecutors submit their filing.

Tangent

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has separately dismissed the other federal criminal case against Trump, for allegedly withholding White House documents, as the Trump-appointed judge argued Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. Her ruling is now being appealed and does not have any impact on the federal election case, however, Trump’s lawyers said Thursday they plan to now argue this case should also be dismissed on the same grounds. Chutkan said Thursday she will allow them to argue the issue, but said she didn’t find Cannon’s ruling to be “very persuasive,” as quoted by CBS News.

What Happens If Trump Wins?

Since there won’t be a trial before the election, the fate of the criminal case will be determined by whether Trump wins. If he loses, the case will proceed to trial as normal, but if Trump takes back the White House, it’s expected that Trump would appoint officials to the Justice Department who would have the charges against him dropped.

Chief Critic

Tump has heavily protested the federal election case moving forward in light of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, after already decrying the charges against him as a “witch hunt” designed to harm his presidential campaign. The ex-president complained about the updated indictment in a series of posts on Truth Social last week, saying the “ridiculous new Indictment … has all the problems of the old Indictment, and should be dismissed IMMEDIATELY.” “This is merely an attempt to INTERFERE WITH THE ELECTION,” Trump wrote, going on to claim “the whole case should be thrown out and dismissed on Presidential Immunity grounds.”

Key Background

The federal election case is one of four criminal cases brought against Trump, with the ex-president facing felony counts of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. Trump was first indicted in August 2023, and the case was initially scheduled to go to trial in March before the immunity dispute pushed it back. The ex-president sought to dismiss the charges against him by claiming he has “presidential immunity”—an argument he’s made in many of his civil and criminal cases—but while Chutkan and a panel of appeals judges ruled against him, the Supreme Court was more sympathetic. Justices ruled 6-3 that Trump and other ex-presidents have criminal immunity for “official acts” they took while in office. There is no immunity for “unofficial” acts that fall outside the scope of a president’s duties. Smith’s updated indictment revises the government’s allegations against Trump in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling. While the charges all stayed the same, prosecutors removed some specific allegations of how Trump unlawfully tried to overturn the election—namely by pressuring DOJ officials to challenge the results, which the Supreme Court ruled was an official act. The indictment also makes small changes to its language to emphasize that prosecutors believe Trump was acting as a candidate and private citizen in his efforts to overturn the election, not as president.

Further Reading

ForbesTrump Still Faces These Crimes In DOJ Jan. 6 Case—And They All Could Include Prison Time, ForbesJack Smith Files New Indictment Against Trump In Jan. 6 Case ForbesTrump’s Jan. 6 Case Still Won’t Have Trial Before Election Day—Despite Slimmed-Down Indictment ForbesTrump’s Legal Cases—Including His Sentencing: What’s Happening Through Election Day Amid Big Week In Court ForbesWhat Could Happen To Trump’s Legal Cases If He Wins—Or Loses—The Election