After a nearly eight-month hiatus, former President Donald Trump‘s federal election interference case is back in motion. On Saturday, Judge Tanya Chutkan scheduled a hearing for August 16 in Washington to discuss the next steps in the case, which had been stalled due to a Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s immunity.
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision last month granted Trump broad immunity against criminal prosecution for actions taken during his presidency.However, the ruling left unresolved the matter of whether Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, detailed in the indictment, could proceed to trial.
The upcoming hearing will address how to handle this complex fact-finding mission. Judge Chutkan will confer with Trump’s lawyers and special counsel Jack Smith’s team to determine which parts of the indictment can advance and which are protected under presidential immunity.
While Saturday’s scheduling of the hearing was procedural, it marks the first substantive action in the case since December. The Supreme Court’s decision on immunity was issued on July 1, but the formal mandate was only executed on Friday, returning the case to the lower courts.
Judge Chutkan’s order instructs both defense and prosecution to submit proposals for pretrial proceedings by next Friday. The details of how the fact-finding will be conducted—whether through written briefs or a more detailed hearing—are yet to be determined.
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision last month granted Trump broad immunity against criminal prosecution for actions taken during his presidency.However, the ruling left unresolved the matter of whether Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, detailed in the indictment, could proceed to trial.
The upcoming hearing will address how to handle this complex fact-finding mission. Judge Chutkan will confer with Trump’s lawyers and special counsel Jack Smith’s team to determine which parts of the indictment can advance and which are protected under presidential immunity.
While Saturday’s scheduling of the hearing was procedural, it marks the first substantive action in the case since December. The Supreme Court’s decision on immunity was issued on July 1, but the formal mandate was only executed on Friday, returning the case to the lower courts.
Judge Chutkan’s order instructs both defense and prosecution to submit proposals for pretrial proceedings by next Friday. The details of how the fact-finding will be conducted—whether through written briefs or a more detailed hearing—are yet to be determined.
