U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has to rule on how much of the federal election case against Trump can move forward, but it’s unclear how long that will take.
Topline
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s damning report detailing former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election was made public on Wednesday, teeing up a major decision on how much of the federal criminal case against Trump’s post-election efforts can move forward—and while it’s unclear how much will be decided by Election Day, the ex-president’s lawyers will have a busy month regardless in Trump’s civil and criminal cases.TimelineNews Peg
Chutkan released Smith’s wide-ranging filing laying out prosecutors’ case against Trump on Wednesday, after ruling on what should be redacted in the public filing. The document uses new evidence to help argue why the government’s charges against Trump comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling giving the ex-president immunity from charges based on his “official acts” in office, with prosecutors alleging all the conduct at issue was Trump acting as a political candidate and private citizen, rather than as president. Chutkan will now have to decide based on the filing which charges, if any, comply with the Supreme Court’s decision and can move forward. The filing includes a number of new allegations regarding the ex-president’s post-election efforts, detailing how Trump pushed fraud claims despite being repeatedly told and seemingly knowing they were false—allegedly saying he has to “fight” regardless of “if [he] won or lost the election”—and that those around him similarly didn’t believe his fraud claims but pushed them anyway.
