OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The federal judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s election interference trial stemming from incidents that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, has paused the case while an appeal to have it tossed out completely runs its course.
Judge Tanya Chutkan issued her ruling late Wednesday, which stated, in part, that it “automatically stays any further proceedings that would move this case towards trial or impose additional burdens of litigation on Defendant.”
The Hill reported: “Trump last week appealed an order from Chutkan that rejected his motion to dismiss the Jan. 6 case, likewise asking that she halt activity in the case while his appeal proceeds. The move comes as Trump has argued the courts should dismiss the case both on the concept of presidential immunity, as well as on constitutional grounds, including the First Amendment.”
“If jurisdiction is returned to this court, it will—consistent with its duty to ensure both a speedy trial and fairness for all parties—consider at that time whether to retain or continue the dates of any still-future deadlines and proceedings, including the trial scheduled for March 4, 2024,” wrote Chutkan in her order.
The appeal by Trump could disrupt the date the trial is currently scheduled to begin, which is March 4 — the day before the Super Tuesday primaries. Federal prosecutors have argued that Trump is attempting to use whatever means possible to upend the trial date with the hope of pushing it beyond the November 2024 election, which is his legal right to do.
But at the same time, special counsel Jack Smith followed Trump’s appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals with his own filing to the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week, which the justices agreed to hear.
…It is still possible that the trial in March could occur depending on how the Supreme Court acts on the request for an expedited review by Smith.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 13, 2023
According to Politico, “The case, arising from the prosecution of a Jan. 6 defendant accused of pushing against police and inflaming a mob attempting to breach the Capitol, calls into question prosecutors’ handling of an Enron-era obstruction law to punish those who stormed Congress.”
The charge is “obstruction of an official proceeding,” and it is one of the felony counts that Trump himself faces in his so-called ‘election interference’ case filed by Smith. That charge alone carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Trump leveled charges of “election interference” at Smith after he filed the motion with the Supreme Court.
Smith filed a motion on Monday seeking a quick resolution from the nation’s highest court, asking justices to determine whether Trump has immunity from being prosecuted.
Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign issued a strongly worded statement criticizing Smith and President Joe Biden, who is also running for a second term, for their efforts to stick with a March 4 trial date in the case, which is one day before the Super Tuesday primaries.
The high court agreed to promptly review Smith’s petition, allowing Trump until December 20 to submit a response.
“Crooked Joe Biden’s henchman, Deranged Jack Smith, is so obsessed with interfering in the 2024 Presidential Election to prevent President Trump from retaking the Oval Office, as the President is poised to do, that Smith is willing to try for a Hail Mary by racing to the Supreme Court and attempting to bypass the appellate process,” a Trump spokesperson said of the filing.
The statement referenced Smith’s oversight of the Department of Justice’s public integrity unit, which secured a bribery and extortion conviction against former Virginia Republican Governor Bob McDonnell in a gift case. However, the Supreme Court later overturned the conviction with an 8-0 decision in 2016.
“Deranged may need to be reminded that the Supreme Court has not been kind to him, including by handing down a rare unanimous rebuke when the Court overturned him 8-0 in the McDonnell case,” the spokesperson added.
