A federal lawsuit against Donald Trump related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot must wait, a judge ruled Friday.
D.C. federal judge Tanya Chutkan canceled a scheduled March 4 trial date, and the court has yet to make a key decision on President Trump’s intention to throw out the case citing presidential immunity. I pointed out that I was waiting.
Mr. Chutkan’s order means the first of four criminal trials scheduled for Mr. Trump, 77, will begin next month in Manhattan. Trump’s case begins with charges that he falsified business records to hide hush money payments to two women who say he had affairs with them. .
The delay in the D.C. case brought by Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith comes as a federal appeals court continues to consider President Trump’s immunity claims.
In December, Chutkan put the case on hold pending the return of a ruling on the issue.
“If the mandate is returned, the court will set a new schedule,” Chutkan wrote in a short order Friday, referring to the president’s decision on immunity.
Trump pleaded not guilty in August to four charges related to his alleged attempt to remain in power after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
During an appeals court hearing last month, Trump’s lawyers argued to the judges that the president could not be convicted unless he was first impeached.
But appellate judge Florence Pan responded with skepticism: “Could a president who ordered SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political opponent (and has not been impeached) be subject to criminal prosecution? ” he asked.
“If only he had been impeached and convicted first,” Trump lawyer John Sauer argued.
Meanwhile, Assistant Special Counsel James Pearce argued that President Trump is “not above the law.”
“Former presidents are not immune from criminal prosecution,” Pierce said during the hearing.
The judge did not say when a decision would be issued.
Smith had sought to expedite the issue of presidential immunity by asking the Supreme Court to consider the case in order to meet the March 4 trial date. However, the High Court rejected this claim.
After the trial was suspended, Trump’s team asked that Smith be held in contempt for filing court documents despite the suspension.
President Chutkan suspended the contempt motion on January 18, but provided an explanation.
“Until the powers of attorney are returned in this case, the parties may not file substantive pretrial motions without first seeking a court adjournment. It shall state whether the allegations made relate to matters related to the appeal or are incidental to the appeal,” she ruled.
The former president is scheduled to return to Manhattan state court on February 15th for his final pretrial hearing before his hush money trial begins on March 25th.
In that case, President Trump is accused of paying former porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal to cover up an alleged sex scandal ahead of the 2016 presidential election. It is.
President Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records. His former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen is expected to testify against him.
Unlike the recent civil case against the real estate mogul, where Trump could come and go as he pleased, the 45th president will be forced to sit at the defense table for the entirety of the criminal trial.
Trump has also been charged with conspiring to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 Georgia election, and in federal court in Florida was accused of storing a trove of national security documents in his Mar-a-Lago home after leaving office. has been accused.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud trial against President Trump, the Trump Organization and others is expected to be decided as early as next week.
In this case, Trump could be fined $370 million.
A federal jury in Manhattan last week ordered Trump to pay $83 million for defaming sexual assault accuser E. Jean Carroll.
Additional reporting by Ben Kochman
