September 5, 2024
We are not going to get a trial in former President Trump’s federal criminal election interference case before the 2024 presidential election, but in just a few weeks — we may get to see some significant brand new evidence the special counsel plans to use against trump.
That’s according to an order issued tonight by judge Tanya Chutkan after a contentious hearing in her Washington DC federal courtroom this morning.
The Trump team was vehemently opposed to this happening – in fact during that hearing they argued that this case should be thrown out because of the supreme court’s ruling that said presidents are criminally immune from prosecution for official acts they take in office. When judge Chutkan said it was too early for that –the Trump team instead argued these issues should be taken up in the spring of 2025 long after the election. But judge Chutkan was having none of it. And instead she issued this new schedule.
By September 10th Special Counsel Smith must disclose to Trump’s team this new evidence Smith says will support his argument that the actions Trump took when it came to the 2020 election were done in his capacity as a candidate. Not in is capacity as president therefore he should not have presidential immunity for those four felony charges.
We don’t know much about this new evidence. All we know is it was not included in either indictment. Prosecutors said it may include transcripts of witness statements to the grand jury, to prosecutors and to the FBI. Since this rarely happens, some of this evidence may end up being sealed, but it’s possible we will get to see some of it before the November election. Then trump’s team will get to file a brief to argue whether any of that evidence was improperly withheld from them or whether any of it should be thrown out.
Then the judge ordered both the special counsel and Trump’s legal to file briefs about the limits of Trump’s immunity and why the case should be thrown out based on the supreme court’s immunity ruling.
During today’s hearing Trump’s legal team entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to the superseding indictment Smith filed against him last week. But Trump’s team also argued judge Chutkan should throw out this case because special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed. A motion they have not filed in this case prior to today. Trump’s team was using the ruling issued by judge Aileen Cannon in Florida that dismissed Trump’s classified documents case for that very reason. Trump’s team today said judge Chutkan should do the same. Judge Chutkan said she is not bound by judge Cannon’s ruling – instead she is bound by the rulings of the DC appeals court which has already ruled for years – as have every other federal court — that special counsels are properly appointed. Regardless, judge Chutkan says the Trump team can file their motion to dismiss this case on the grounds that they believe Smith was illegally appointed. That is due October 24th. One date judge Chutkan did not set was a trial date. She said in court today, until all these pre-trial issues are settled setting a trial date would be “futile”
