Judge Postpones Trump's Federal Election Interference Trial
The Facts
On Friday, US District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan formally called off the March 4 trial date for the federal 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump in Washington, DC, indefinitely postponing the proceeding.
This comes as the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has yet to decide on an appeal by the former president that argues he has presidential immunity from charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election since he was still in office at that time.
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Obama-appointed Judge Chutkan was forced to formally remove this trial against Trump from the court calendar, as higher courts must consider his constitutional immunity arguments before the case moves on. Throughout American history, no president has ever faced criminal prosecution for their official acts, which would require them to be impeached and convicted by the Senate first.
Anti-Trump narrative
This delay is indefensible as Trump has relied on an absurd claim of absolute immunity in a bid to seize a legal loophole and freeze his trial until after the election — so he can win and then order that the case be dropped. Given that the electorate has a right to know whether they're voting for a criminal, the former president must be tried before November.
