Trump election subversion case back in court after Supreme Court ruling
5 September 2024, 06:04
A judge will hear arguments about next potential steps after the nation’s highest court narrowed the scope of the case.
A judge will hear arguments on Thursday about the possible next steps in the case against former US president Donald Trump and his alleged election subversion.
The hearing will mark the first since the US Supreme Court narrowed the case by ruling that former presidents are entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges.
Prosecutors and defence lawyers submitted proposals late on Friday, ahead of a status conference before US District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
Ms Chutkan is presiding over the case that accuses Mr Trump of plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the 2021 riots in the US Capitol.
Mr Trump is not expected to be present at the heating.
The prosecution, which filed a new indictment last week to strip out some allegations against Mr Trump to comply with the Supreme Court ruling, said it could be ready at any time to file a brief that lays out how to apply the immunity opinion to the case.
Defence lawyers, by contrast, said they intended to file multiple motions to dismiss the case, including one that piggybacks off a Florida ruling that said Mr Smith’s appointment as prosecutor was unconstitutional.
Neither side envisions a trial happening before the November election, in which Trump is the Republican nominee.
The case is one of two federal prosecutions against Mr Trump.
The other pertains to allegations that Mr Trump illegally hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
That case was dismissed in July by US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who said Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unlawful.
Prosecutors have appealed.
