Dramatic Day in Trump’s January 6 Case, as Judge Says She Wants a Trial To Start Soon and Insists Election Is Not a Factor

The prosecution of President Trump at Washington for alleged election subversion restarted with a courtroom meeting on Thursday, the first convening since the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have broad immunity for official acts in discharging their duties. Special Counsel Jack Smith — who recently filed a new, slimmed down indictment to accommodate the Nine’s ruling — took the time to file a document containing classified information that is, for the time being, hidden from public view. In a major development, the presiding judge, Tanya Chutkan, said that she would move to schedule a trial as soon as possible, and that the upcoming election would not factor into trial scheduling. Prior to Thursday’s hearing, many legal observers had said they did not believe it was possible for the trial to take place before the election. Whether that’s now changed is unclear.On Thursday, porosecutors and Trump’s defense attorneys appeared — without the defendant — in Judge Chutkan’s courtroom to discuss issues of immunity and scheduling for the trial. At one point, Judge Chutkan grew frustrated, according to MSNBC, when Trump’s attorney, John Lauro, tried to argue that Mr. Smith was illegally appointed to his position — an argument that was convincing to Judge Aileen Cannon in Mr. Smith’s other prosecution of Trump, in Florida, over his hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Judge Cannon threw out the entire case and Mr. Smith is appealing.Judge Chutkan, whose rulings have been overwhelmingly favorable to the prosecution — unlike Judge Cannon’s — rejected outright the idea that Mr. Smith was appointed illegally. “There’s binding D.C. precedent on this issue,” Judge Chutkan said of the argument about the constitutionality of special counsels. She said that Judge Cannon’s ruling was not “particularly persuasive,” and that Circuit Court precedent provides for different outcomes depending on jurisdiction. On behalf of his client, Mr. Lauro reiterated that Trump was pleading not guilty to all charges. CNN’s Paula Reid, who was in the room during the arguments, said it was getting “spicy” between the prosecutors, the defense, and Judge Chutkan. She claimed Trump’s attorneys were “being pretty dramatic” by describing Mr. Smith and the indictment as “illegitimate,” and getting into it with the judge about what constitutes official acts. “I say they’re dramatic because some of the things that they’re saying in court right now, just do not match what are in their filings,” Ms. Reid said. Judge Chutkan said in her courtroom that she would try to set a schedule for the trial as soon as possible, and that the election calendar would have no bearing on the trial schedule. In a sign that prosecutors are prepared to begin their case as soon as possible, Mr. Smith on Wednesday filed a notice with the court about evidence uncovered by his investigation that must be classified. The document, titled “Government’s Classified, Ex Parte, In Camera, and Under Seal Notice Regarding Classified Discovery,” will remain sealed for the time being.Mr. Lauro asked Judge Chutkan to delay the trial even further, possibly for several weeks, given the election and Trump’s campaign schedule. She said that because the case has already been going on for more than a year, there was no need to slow-walk the trial any further. When Mr. Lauro claimed the judge was rushing to trial, Judge Chutkan shot back: “This case has been pending for more than a year. We’re hardly sprinting to the finish line here.”Beyond the scheduling issues, Judge Chutkan is set to decide exactly what can be considered Trump’s official acts while serving as president in the wake of the 2020 election. She noted that the Supreme Court did not rule on specific issues Trump raised about his search for voter fraud being “official,” and that ultimately the justices left it up to her to decide what to do. “They sent it back to me,” Judge Chutkan said of the justices.

Dramatic Day in Trump’s January 6 Case, as Judge Says She Wants a Trial To Start Soon and Insists Election Is Not a Factor

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