The federal case against Donald Trump in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot will have to wait, a judge ruled Friday.
DC federal Judge Tanya Chutkan vacated the planned March 4 trial date, noting the court was still awaiting a key decision on Trump’s bid to toss the case on the grounds that he has presidential immunity from the charges.
Chutkan’s order means that the first of four planned criminal trials against the 77-year-old Trump will begin in Manhattan next month on charges that he falsified business records to hide hush money payments to two women who claimed he had carried on extramarital affairs with them.
The postponement of the DC case — brought by Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith — comes as a federal appeals court continues to weigh Trump’s immunity argument.
Chutkan in December had put the case on hold until a decision came back on the matter.
“The court will set a new schedule if and when the mandate is returned,” Chutkan wrote in her brief order Friday, referring to the decision on presidential immunity.
Trump pleaded not guilty in August to four counts related to his alleged attempts to remain in power after his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
During a hearing in the appeals case last month, Trump’s lawyers argued to a panel of judges that a president couldn’t be convicted of a crime if he wasn’t impeached first.
The case against Trump in connection with the Capitol riot has been delayed. APBut appellate Judge Florence Pan pushed back with skepticism, asking, “Could a president who ordered SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival (and is) not impeached, would he be subject to criminal prosecution?”
“If he were impeached and convicted first,” Trump lawyer John Sauer insisted.
Assistant special counsel James Pearce, meanwhile, argued Trump “is not above the law.”
“A former president enjoys no immunity from criminal prosecution,” Pearce said during the hearing.
The judges didn’t indicate when their decision would come out.
Smith had tried to fast track the presidential immunity matter by asking the Supreme Court to weigh in, in an effort to keep the March 4 trial date. But the high court denied the request.
After the trial case was paused, Trump’s team sought to have Smith held in contempt for filing court papers despite the hiatus.
Chutkan on Jan. 18 shut down the contempt motion but did issue a clarification.
“Until the mandate is returned in this case, the parties shall not file any substantive pretrial motions without first seeking leave of court, and any such request for leave shall state whether the proposed motion concerns matters involved in the appeal or is instead ancillary to it,” she ruled.
The former president is due back in Manhattan state court on Feb. 15 for the last pre-trial hearing ahead of the March 25 start of his hush money trial.
In that case, Trump is accused of paying former porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal to cover up alleged sex scandals ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. His former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen is expected to testify against him.
Unlike in the recent civil cases against the real estate tycoon, where Trump has been able to come and go as he pleases, the 45th president will be forced to sit at the defense table for the entirety of the criminal trial.
Trump is also charged with conspiring to illegally overturn the Georgia 2020 election results and he’s accused in Florida federal court of hoarding troves of national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago home after he left office.
A decision is slated to come down as early as next week in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud trial against Trump, the Trump Organization and others.
Trump could face $370 million in penalties in that case.
A Manhattan federal jury last week ordered Trump to pay $83 million to sexual assault accuser E. Jean Carroll for defaming her.
Additional reporting by Ben Kochman
