Dec. 13 (UPI) — A federal judge agreed Wednesday to pause former President Donald Trump’s election interference proceedings as he appeals the case to a higher court.
Trump argues the case should be tossed on the grounds he is entitled to presidential immunity from criminal prosecution.
Wednesday’s three-page order by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan throws into question next year’s trial date, which is scheduled the day before Super Tuesday as Trump runs for the Republican presidential nomination.
“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,” Chutkan wrote.
Chutkan’s ruling does not change Trump’s gag order in the case or his conditions of release.
In August, Trump pleaded not guilty to four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government over allegations he tried to overthrow the 2020 presidential election.
Last week, Trump requested a break in the proceedings to appeal Chutkan’s ruling earlier this month that presidential immunity does not shield him from charges that he tried to alter the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“Whatever immunities a sitting president may enjoy, the United States has only one chief executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass,” Chutkan said on Dec. 1.
After Chutkan granted Trump’s request to pause the proceedings Wednesday, both sides resumed their arguments for different timelines.
Special counsel Jack Smith asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the Supreme Court to hear the appeal as soon as possible. The Supreme Court agreed to fast-track its consideration of whether to hear the dispute and has given Trump until Dec. 20 to file his response to Smith’s request.
“Expediting the appeal in this case is necessary to vindicate the public’s interest in a timely trial,” Smith’s team said in response to a court filing earlier Wednesday by Trump’s attorneys, as they request the Court of Appeals take its time.
“Whether a President of the United States may be criminally prosecuted for his official acts as President goes to the core of our system of separated powers and will stand among the most consequential questions ever decided by this Court,” they wrote.
“The manifest public interest lies in the Court’s careful and deliberate consideration of these momentous issues with the utmost care and diligence.”
