Judge releases schedule for Trump election case, which puts him on trial after election day

Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan on Thursday scheduled several deadlines in former President Donald Trump's election interference case, which would officially put the former president on trial after the November election.

Chutkan held a status hearing on the case in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning, where Trump pleaded not guilty to a superseding indictment that accused him of conspiring to defraud the United States and obstruct an official proceeding. Trump was not at the hearing in person, but authorized his legal team to enter the plea in his stead.

The judge set the first major deadline for Sept. 26, where prosecutors will be allowed to release never-before-seen evidence in the January 6 case, including grand jury transcripts. Trump's legal team's response to the new evidence must be filed by Oct. 17. Prosecutors can then respond to the defense by Oct. 29. 

Another major deadline is for Trump's bid to dismiss the case on statutory grounds, where the defense is required to file a supplement on the bid by Oct. 3. Prosecutors will have until Oct. 17 to respond.

Information on Trump's motion to dismiss the case based on the appointments and appropriations clause is due on Oct. 24, with the government's response due on Oct. 31, and the defense's rebuttal to the government's response due Nov. 7.

No official trial date has been set in the case so far, because of questions regarding what actions of Trump's are protected under presidential immunity.  Chutkan said she cannot set a trial date until issues regarding presidential immunity are resolved. 

The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts taken while in office, but not for private actions. What constitutes official versus private actions remain unclear.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.