A federal judge on Saturday refused to dismiss a federal election interference case against former President Trump because he argued he was wrongly and independently prosecuted.
in 16 page orderU.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote that the court must assume at the outset of the proceedings that the allegations against Trump are true, and that the “improper reconstruction of the allegations” that Trump has presented so far is not grounds for dismissing the lawsuit.
“At this stage, the court cannot accept defendant’s alternative statements,” Chutkan wrote.
The case was returned to Chutkan’s hands just Friday after a federal appeals court in a 6-3 decision last month gave the former presidents at least official immunity and sent it back to the trial court shortly after it was remanded by the Supreme Court.
The ruling likely dismisses some of the charges in a four-count indictment charging Trump with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Trump’s motion, filed in October, alleging that the prosecution was selective and vindictive, echoed many of the arguments he frequently repeated during the campaign, including that Trump merely raised doubts about the 2020 election and that he was not responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, incident when his supporters stormed the building.
“Because the government has not charged President Trump with any actions at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the allegations relating to those actions are irrelevant, prejudicial and inflammatory,” the former president’s lawyers said in an October filing. “Accordingly, the Court should strike these allegations from the indictment.”
Trump also blasted his then-biggest political opponent, President Biden, claiming the allegations against him were the result of the president’s promises that Trump would never run for office again.
In his ruling on Saturday, Judge Chutkan flatly rejected those allegations, writing that there was “no indication” that Biden sought to pressure the Justice Department or Attorney General Merrick Garland to take “politically motivated action” against Trump.
“Defendant has not presented any evidence of a possible vindictive motive,” she wrote.
Trump’s immunity claims put the case on hold for months while it was heard in higher courts, but Chutkan has now regained jurisdiction over the case, which he said he spoke to early Saturday and scheduled for a hearing on Aug. 16 to determine how to proceed.
The former president’s lawyers have argued that the prosecution should not proceed until after the election, but Chutkan has so far rejected such attempts to delay and now appears to be moving full speed ahead with the case.
