Former President Donald J. A federal judge on Wednesday suspended all proceedings against Trump on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. case.
Separate but related moves by Mr. It’s part of an ongoing struggle between Trump’s legal team and prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith over the critical question of when the investigation will actually take place. It is now scheduled to begin in March in Washington.
On Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump’s lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to avoid setting an expedited schedule as they consider whether to dismiss the election meddling charges based on the former president’s sweeping claims of executive veto.
In A 16 page filing In a mix of legal and political arguments, lawyers asked the three-judge court panel not to quickly hear the immunity question, saying a “reckless rush to judgment” would “irreversibly undermine public confidence in the judicial system.” “
“There is a clear public interest in the Court’s careful and deliberate consideration of these important issues with great care and diligence,” said Mr. A lawyer handling the appeal for Trump d. John Sauer wrote.
On Wednesday afternoon, the trial judge overseeing the election case, Tanya S. Sutgen handed the victory to Mr Trump by halting “all steps to move this case towards a trial” until an appeal of the immunity issue is resolved.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers sought the stay when they first decided to challenge Judge Sutgen’s denial of the former president’s immunity claim. Mr. Trump argued in his initial motion to dismiss the case that he was “absolutely immune” from election interference charges based on actions he took while in office.
Two days after the former president filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Mr. Attorneys working for Smith asked the same judges to fast-track the appeal. Prosecutors argued that moving the underlying case forward would demonstrate the public interest in a speedy trial.
Mr. Smith has filed a parallel motion with the Supreme Court, asking the justices to consider immunity before the appeals court and issue their decision quickly. Trump’s lawyers have until Dec. 20 to respond to that request.
In another move on Wednesday, Mr. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a separate case of Trump’s prosecution. Jan. 6, 2021, the former president and hundreds of others charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol said they would consider whether they could be charged in those cases under a federal law that criminalizes obstruction or obstruction of justice. An official action.
Winning the appeal of the immunity issue Mr. One of Trump’s goals. All the while, he and his lawyers had an alternative strategy: to delay the trial on the election interference charges as long as possible.
Mr. Trump would have the power to postpone the trial until after next year’s election and order the charges to be dropped if he ultimately wins the race. Holding an inquiry after the race, Mr. It also means voters won’t have a chance to hear any evidence lawyers have gathered about Trump’s expansive efforts.
Mr. Smith’s group, Mr. Trump has never said publicly that they are worried that if he is reelected, he will use his political success as a means to overcome his legal problems. Instead, they framed their concerns about the scheduling of the case in a different way, saying they were seeking to protect the greater public interest in seeing the case resolved in a timely manner.
Mr. Smith, Mr. In an appeals court filing, Mr. Sauer rejected that position.
“The date March 4, 2024 has no talismanic significance,” he wrote. “There is no compelling reason that the date should be maintained, other than the prosecutor’s illegitimate partisan motives.”
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have long complained that the investigation is a form of election interference. They say the planned opening date of March 4 is a day before Super Tuesday, the most important date of the primary election season.
Mr. Trump’s legal team, Mr. Mr. Smith for the White House to launch political attacks against the Smith and Biden administrations. It also used its immunity to frame the impeachment inquiry as a partisan effort to derail Trump’s third bid.
“The prosecution has one goal in this case: to try, convict and convict President Trump illegally before an election where he can defeat President Biden,” Mr. Sawer wrote.
In his appeal papers, Mr. Sauer, Mr. The faster schedule Smith asked for, Mr. He complained that Trump’s legal team “must work 24 hours a day on holidays.”
“The special counsel growls, drumming nervously with his Grinch fingers, ‘I’ve got to find some way to stop Christmas from coming,'” Mr. Seuss said, citing the famous Dr. Seuss book. Sawer wrote.
As a sign of how fast they intend to move, the lawyers have called Mr. Sauer responded to the filing within hours.
“The public’s need for speedy resolution of these critical legal issues must take precedence over individual planning issues,” they wrote.
