Trump Election-Obstruction Trial Date in DC Scrapped for Now (1)

Donald Trump’s planned March 4 trial in Washington on charges of election obstruction has been scrapped for now, with a new date hinging on whether a federal appeals court accepts his presidential immunity defense.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday canceled the trial date in the case. It’s one of four criminal prosecutions the former president faces, creating a crowded court calendar as he campaigns to return to the White House in the November presidential election.

Chutkan previously rejected Trump’s argument that he’s immune from prosecution over actions he took as president, including his effort to overturn the result of the 2020 election that culminated in a deadly attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A federal appeals court is now reviewing that decision and has yet to rule.

“The court will set a new schedule if and when the mandate is returned,” Chutkan said in her order.

If his immunity defense fails, Trump will face a trial on charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. But for now, the cancellation may reflect the reality of a time crunch caused by Trump’s appeal and the preparations necessary for proceedings in Washington that could take months and involves a high-profile defendant, witnesses and jury selection.

Chutkan had scheduled Feb. 9 as the date to summon potential jurors to court to answer questionnaires for the case, but she canceled that in her order Friday.

Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Trump, declined to comment. Peter Carr, a spokesman for Smith, also declined to comment.

Read More: Trump to Lose 53% of Swing-State Voters If Convicted of a Crime

Meanwhile, Trump also has a March 25 trial date in New York, where Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged him with falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. Bragg says the payment was made right before the 2016 election to bury her claim that she’d had sex with Trump, which he denies.

The Washington and Manhattan cases had been seen as the two most likely to reach a verdict before the November elections.

Trump has a May 20 trial date in Florida over charges he mishandled classified documents, but that’s expected to be pushed back. A separate election-obstruction case in Georgia doesn’t have a trial date yet, and it’s been roiled by allegations over the district attorney’s relationship with her special prosecutor.

(Updates with background on case, judge’s ruling.)

--With assistance from Erik Larson.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Patricia Hurtado in Federal Court in Manhattan at pathurtado@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net

Sara Forden

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