Trump Election Interference Case Returns To District Court

 An appeals court sent former President Donald Trump’s election interference case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan after the Supreme Court’s ruling that presidents have partial immunity—placing the ball back in Chutkan’s court after the case was on hold for about eight months.

In a brief ruling issued Friday, an appeals court said the “case can be remanded to the District Court for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion.”

Chutkan is now tasked with moving the case forward in a way that follows the Supreme Court’s finding that Trump has immunity over official acts, meaning she must now determine which acts Trump was indicted for may be considered “official” and must be thrown out, and which acts he will still face trial for.

Chutkan is also able to issue orders and set a briefing schedule again.

The case—which had originally been set to go to trial in March—has been more or less on pause since December, when Trump first asked for presidential immunity.

Trump was indicted on four felony charges last August stemming from his efforts to subvert the 2020 election results. The case is largely based on Trump’s unsuccessful legal campaign against the election results, his “fake electors” scheme to submit false slates of electors to Congress and his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol building. He was charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. Trump initially tried to get the case dismissed using his presidential immunity argument, but Chutkan ruled his previous role as president didn’t give him the “divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens.” Trump appealed that, but an appeals court also wasn’t convinced, ruling “former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” and any “executive immunity” he had as president “no longer protects him against this prosecution.” Trump then appealed to the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, which further delayed the case and ultimately granted presidents immunity over official acts they take as president.

When the case will proceed. It’s still unlikely Trump faces trial in this case before the November election, the Associated Press reported, in part because of the amount of work ahead for the lawyers and courts to determine how to proceed.