Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan will not hold former President Trump's trial on charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith's Jan. 6 investigation until after the 2024 presidential election.
Judge Chutkan held a status hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday morning. Following the Supreme Court's ruling that a president cannot be prosecuted for his official duties while in office, Trump's lawyers have pleaded not guilty to the charges in Smith's new indictment.
Trump skipped a federal court hearing on Thursday to plead not guilty to charges in Jack Smith's election lawsuit.
In his order Thursday afternoon, Chutkan set a deadline of Nov. 7, after Election Day, for federal prosecutors and Trump's legal team to submit responses and documents.
Trump He appeared in court Thursday. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Smith appeared in court Thursday morning.
Former President Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith. (Getty Images)
The case concerns Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election in 2020. The former president was indicted last week on amended criminal charges filed by Smith, who said Trump pressured the former president. Vice President Mike Pence They are attempting to reject legitimate electoral votes, add fake electoral votes in key states won by President Biden, and certify Trump's election victory.
The new indictment retains the earlier criminal charges but narrows and reframes the charges against the Republican presidential nominee following a Supreme Court ruling that granted broad immunity to the former president.
Specifically, the indictment was amended to remove allegations about Justice Department officials and other government officials, clarify Trump's role as a candidate, and uncover allegations about his conversations with then-Vice President Pence in his ceremonial role as president of the Senate.
The new indictment drops parts of a previous indictment that accused Trump of using the Justice Department to try to undo his loss in the 2020 election. supreme court Recently, a 6-3 ruling ruled that President Trump is immune from prosecution for official White House acts.
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Trump has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct governmental proceedings, obstruction and attempted obstruction of governmental proceedings, and conspiracy against the interests of the United States. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the indictment is pending.
Smith claims that Trump created false electoral rolls in key states won by Biden in an attempt to prove that he actually won, and that he pressured Pence to reject the legitimate electoral votes.
The special counsel's office said the latest indictment, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., was issued by a grand jury that had never previously heard evidence in the case. The new grand jury has only just heard this new information.
A source familiar with the matter told Fox News that talks over an indictment are unlikely to expedite things and that a trial is unlikely to take place before the November election.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
