Judge Sets Schedule in Trump Federal Election Case, Allows DOJ to File Evidence Before Election

WASHINGTON—U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order on Sept. 5 outlining a series of deadlines for former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference case.
More specifically, Chutkan required a brief from the Department of Justice on presidential immunity by the end of the day on Sept. 26. Trump, meanwhile, is expected to file a renewed motion to dismiss based on presidential immunity by Oct. 17.
The order requires the DOJ to complete all mandatory evidentiary disclosures by Sept. 10.
Chutkan told Lauro that the court has said the timing of the election was not relevant and that she wouldn’t consider that factor in scheduling pretrial proceedings.
It’s unclear when pretrial litigation over immunity will end but Chutkan set the last briefing deadline on that issue for Oct. 29. “After briefing, the court will determine whether further proceedings are necessary,” her order read.
Much of the discussion during the Sept. 5 status conference centered on how the court would apply the Supreme Court’s opinion in Trump v. United States, which established multiple levels of legal immunity for presidents.
Thomas Windom, an attorney with the special counsel’s office, asked Chutkan to allow the DOJ to file a comprehensive brief on presidential immunity. He aimed to ensure that the case would see only one appeal on immunity before the start of the trial.
Lauro saw the special counsel’s approach as unfair and favored a more incremental approach that would require Chutkan to first determine whether the superseding indictment, filed by Smith on Aug. 30, was legal based on Trump v. United States.
Chutkan worried that doing so would risk reversal from a higher court but also said that she risked reversal no matter what she did.
Lauro and Chutkan clashed during the status conference while discussing how the Supreme Court had handled the special counsel’s allegations about Trump’s interactions with former Vice President Mike Pence.
Lauro thought that issue could prompt Chutkan to dismiss the indictment on legal grounds while she indicated an interest in reviewing some of the evidence surrounding those interactions concurrently with questions of law.