In a new order penned by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, Donald Trump’s D.C. election interference trial has been postponed from its initial March 4 date, with no clue as to when the trial will be rescheduled.
The move is an effective win for Trump, who has argued that presidential immunity protects him from being criminally prosecuted for actions taken while he was in office.
Judge Chutkan’s decision delivers Trump a welcome delay of court proceedings while he challenges the cases against him and mounts a re-election campaign that will climax in November’s general election.
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Trump is embroiled in a number of other legal battles, including the Georgia election interference suit brought by Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis, which is addled by its own set of scandals and roadblocks, and the New York civil fraud trial brought by attorney general Letitia James. He is also charged in a separate, sealed N.Y. trial related to hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Given the string of prosecutorial missteps in the Georgia case and the recently relegated limbo status of the D.C. case, this latter New York will likely commence first, with a date set for Mar. 25.
In D.C., Trump previously argued that he could not be criminally tried because he was not convicted by the Senate for his role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
Chutkan ruled against that argument in December, and Trump subsequently appealed her decision. An appellate court heard the case last month but has yet to give a verdict, though it appeared unswayed by the former president’s lawyers in questioning.
