Former President Donald Trump may still face damaging criminal hearings before the November election in his January 6 election conspiracy case, and he’s scrambling to prevent that from happening. The Supreme Court’s controversial decision earlier this month granted a presumption of immunity for “official acts” undertaken by presidents in office but gave little to no guidance on what makes an act “official.”
This has set up months of legal wrangling in the lower courts over what evidence and charges are constitutional in special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of the former president. Experts say this almost guarantees that the case can’t go to trial until after the election. However, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who oversees the case, could still hold extensive hearings on the evidence to decide what is and is not admissible.
Some experts have called this a “mini-trial,” which could essentially play out the same way a trial would and lay out all the facts of the case for the voting public to see before it even gets to court. According to Hugo Lowell of The Guardian, Trump and his legal team are now trying to prevent that from happening. Specifically, sources indicate they “are expected to argue that the judge can decide whether the conduct is immune based on legal arguments alone, negating the need for witnesses or multiple evidentiary hearings.”
Moreover, if federal prosecutors move to compel witness testimony, Trump will invoke executive privilege to order them not to comply. The case does not officially return to Chutkan’s jurisdiction until August when the 25-day waiting period after the Supreme Court’s ruling concludes. At that point, Trump’s team will begin making its arguments and are expected to claim that the entirety of the charged conduct and evidence falls under the scope of presidential immunity.
According to the report, Trump’s team does not expect to prevail entirely and is bracing for Chutkan to order at least some hearings. However, they are hopeful they can at the very least use the Supreme Court’s ruling to stop testimony from people like former Vice President Mike Pence, who was central to the plot to block the certification of electors and refused to do so.
“Once again, Trump’s plan is election interference,” posted national security attorney Bradley Moss in response to the reporting. “He wants to ensure the voters never learn the full details of how he tried to overthrow the 2020 election and nullify their votes.”
This ongoing legal battle underscores the high stakes of the 2024 election and the efforts by Trump’s team to manage the fallout from his previous administration’s actions. As the case progresses, the American public may gain further insight into the events surrounding January 6 and the former president’s role in them.