A federal judge overseeing Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against former President Trump regarding the events of January 6 has scheduled a conference for August 16 to discuss the next steps.
Judge Tanya Chutkan acted promptly after the U.S. Supreme Court returned the case, having ruled last month on the limits of Trump’s presidential immunity. The Supreme Court determined that a president is shielded from prosecution for official actions taken while in office, but not for unofficial activities, and sent the case back for trial.
In two weeks, prosecutors and Trump’s defense will meet to establish a timeline for pretrial proceedings and to address how the Supreme Court’s decision impacts this case. While Chutkan rejected a defense motion to dismiss charges against Trump, she allowed the Republican candidate’s legal team to resubmit the motion “once all immunity questions have been settled.”
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Former President Donald J. Trump, left, and Judge Tanya Chutkan. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci/United States Courts)
“By August 9, 2024, the parties shall convene and file a status report that jointly proposes, wherever possible, a schedule for upcoming pretrial proceedings. If needed, they may outline any disagreements in separate sections of the report,” reads Chutkan’s order.
Public court hearings are expected, following which the judge will assess the extent to which the Special Counsel’s evidence will be admissible in the trial.
Recently, the Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that a former president enjoys considerable immunity from prosecution for actions carried out during their presidency, but not for those carried out informally.
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Special Counsel Jack Smith speaks about a recently unsealed indictment against former President Donald Trump at the Justice Department in Washington, DC, on August 1, 2023. Trump faces four felony counts for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In a 6-3 ruling, the Court sent the issue back to a lower court, not deciding whether Trump’s immunity extends to actions connected to attempts to reverse the 2020 election results. This ruling followed a New York jury’s unanimous verdict against Trump for falsifying business records in a separate case led by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
Special Counsel Jack Smith accused the former president of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights, based on Smith’s investigation concerning Trump’s role in the January 6 Capitol incident and any purported interference with the 2020 election results.
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Trump responds to inquiries during the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention held in Chicago, Illinois, on July 31, 2024. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges since last summer.
The trial is unlikely to commence before Election Day on November 5.
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Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
