The primary hearing in the federal case against the former American President Donald Trump, concerning his attempts to reverse the outcomes of the latest presidential elections, has been postponed from its originally scheduled date of March 4th. Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, has revoked the set date without immediately announcing a new one, as reported by U.S. media.
This trial was intended to be the first of four criminal cases against Trump to reach a primary hearing. However, proceedings were put on hold in December when Trump appealed the dismissal of his claim that he could not be prosecuted for actions taken while in office. The appellate court considered arguments regarding Trump’s broad interpretation of presidential immunity on January 8, though a verdict is still pending.
Trump has already indicated his intention to escalate the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court if his appeal does not succeed. According to an analysis by Politico, preparations for the main trial would likely remain on hold under such circumstances. Given the pace of the Supreme Court’s decision-making, the March deadline had appeared increasingly unrealistic for several days.
"The court will set a new schedule once its mandate is returned, if that happens," Judge Chutkan stated today.
Thus, the first of Trump’s indictments to be presented before a jury could be the one in New York, where the former president faces charges of falsifying financial records related to a payment made to porn actress Stephanie Clifford for her silence about an alleged affair before the 2016 elections. The main part of this trial is currently scheduled to start on March 25.
The Washington trial revolves around the former president's efforts to block the certification of his loss in the 2020 presidential election. A grand jury, at the request of special prosecutor Jack Smith, issued a four-count indictment including conspiracy to defraud the United States. Trump denies any wrongdoing in this and other cases while he campaigns for re-election.
The public calendar of the Washington court had the start date for the main hearing removed by Thursday, The Washington Post reports. An unnamed official told the newspaper that the date was still listed in an internal calendar from the previous week.
This development follows indications from Judge Chutkan that the original date was increasingly unlikely. The Washington Post noted that she had scheduled other hearings for the period initially expected for Trump's trial.
If his appeal regarding immunity moves swiftly through the judicial system, the federal indictment for election interference could reach a jury by spring, Politico estimates. Otherwise, the trial could be pushed to summer or fall.
"Ongoing delays benefit the former president, whose strategy across various courts is to extend the legal battles as much as possible," Politico commented.
Trump stands as the first former president in U.S. history to be indicted. In addition to the cases mentioned, he also faces charges of unauthorized handling of classified documents and an indictment in the state of Georgia for attempting to overturn the election results there. The start dates for the main hearings in these cases are scheduled for May and August, respectively.