(AFP) – Donald Trump’s case on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election returned to a courtroom on Thursday for the first time in more than 10 months, but a trial of the former US president appears remote.
“Good to see you, you seem rested,” District Judge Tanya Chutkan told Trump’s attorney John Lauro as the hearing kicked off in a downtown Washington courthouse. The Republican presidential candidate waived his right to be present and has pleaded not guilty to the four charges he is facing in the historic case.
Thursday’s status conference is the first courtroom appearance by prosecutors and attorneys for the 78-year-old former president since October of last year and is intended to lay out a schedule for proceedings going forward. The case was essentially frozen while Trump argued that a former president should be immune from criminal prosecution.
The Supreme Court ruled in July that an ex-president has broad immunity from prosecution for official acts conducted while in office, but can be pursued for unofficial acts. Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment of Trump last week that retains the original four charges but takes into account the Supreme Court ruling. The indictment retains the same core, stating that Trump lost in 2020 but “was determined to remain in power” and attempted to subvert the results of the election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
One of the goals of Thursday’s hearing is to set a schedule for pretrial proceedings. Chutkan, who regained control of the case a month ago, said Thursday that she will issue a calendar later in the day. Trump was originally scheduled to go on trial on March 4, but that was put on hold while his lawyers pushed his immunity claim up to the Supreme Court.
– Sparring over calendar –
Lauro and Trump’s lawyers jockeyed during Thursday’s hearing over how to address the immunity questions raised by the Supreme Court ruling and a calendar going forward. A proposed schedule from prosecutors is “enormously prejudicial to president Trump,” Lauro said. Trump’s lawyers have been seeking to delay a trial until after November’s election between Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and it is virtually certain that it will not be held before the vote.
The Supreme Court, in its July 1 ruling, left it to Chutkan, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama, to determine what specific presidential actions might not enjoy immunity. Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding — the January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress that was violently attacked by Trump supporters.
Trump is also accused of seeking to disenfranchise US voters with his false claims that he won the 2020 election. Trump was convicted in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had a sexual encounter with the real estate tycoon. Sentencing has been scheduled for September 18, but Trump’s lawyers have asked for his conviction to be tossed, citing the Supreme Court immunity ruling.
Trump also faces charges in Georgia related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
– Selim SAHEB ETTABA
© 2024 AFP
