Judge schedules pretrial hearing on Aug. 16 for Trump election interference case

The judge overseeing the election interference case against former President Donald Trump has scheduled an August conference with the defense and prosecution teams to determine a schedule for pretrial proceedings. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the indictment, but added that he could file a renewed motion once all issues of immunity have been resolved. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump has some level of immunity for the conduct related to the case and sent it back to lower courts to determine what conduct he could be prosecuted for. The judge will ultimately determine which aspects of Trump’s conduct as alleged in the indictment were official and therefore immune from prosecution. Both parties have until August 9 to file a status report regarding a proposed schedule for pretrial proceedings. It remains unclear when the case may move forward to a trial, and Trump is not required to attend the August 16 meeting. Trump and his lawyers had argued for prosecutorial immunity for actions he took before and on the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the decision by the Supreme Court has been praised by his allies and criticized by Democrats.

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