The federal judge presiding over Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 case against former President Trump has ordered a conference on Aug. 16 to determine the next steps forward.
Judge Tanya Chutkan wasted no time after she received the case back from the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled last month on the scope of Trump’s claim of presidential immunity from prosecution. The high court said that a president is immune from prosecution for official acts in office, but not unofficial ones, and remanded the case back for trial.
Now, prosecutors and Trump’s defense attorneys will confer in two weeks to determine a schedule for pretrial proceedings and discuss how the Supreme Court’s ruling should be applied in this case. Chutkan denied a defense motion to dismiss the charges against Trump but afforded the Republican candidate’s legal team an opportunity to refile the motion “once all issues of immunity have been resolved.”
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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 confer and file a status report that proposes, jointly to the extent possible, a schedule for pretrial proceedings moving forward. If necessary, the parties may explain any disagreements in separate sections of the report,” Chutkan’s order states.
Open court hearings are anticipated, after which the judge will determine the extent to which the Special Counsel’s evidence can be used in the trial.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office, but not for unofficial acts.
Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Justice Department on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. Trump was indicted on four felony counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In a 6-3 decision, the Court sent the matter back down to a lower court, as the justices did not apply the ruling to whether or not Trump is immune from prosecution regarding actions related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The ruling came shortly after a New York jury found Trump guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation.
Special Counsel Jack Smith charged the former president with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. Those charges stemmed from Smith’s investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.
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Trump answers questions during the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago, Illinois, on July 31, 2024. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges last summer.
It is unlikely the case will go to trial before Election Day on Nov. 5.
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Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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