Judge Chutkan released her scheduling order on the federal Trump 1/6 trial and the case is going to be front and center through the rest of the election.
According to Andrew Weissmann, Trump didn’t get any special treatment because he is the Republican candidate for president, “Judge Chutkan treats Trump like any other defendant, and orders simultaneous briefing on three issues: immunity, statutory grounds (meaning the new S Ct Fischer decision on the obstruction statute) and on appointment of the Special Counsel. All to be done in short order, regardless of politics and the political calendar.”
Judge Chutkan said during a hearing earlier in the day that the election would not be a factor in her decision, and it wasn’t. Chutkan isn’t going to change the hearing schedule because the defendant is running for the White House.
The conservative Supreme Court majority created a headache for Trump by holding on to the presidential immunity decision for so long. If the court had released the decision quickly, the trial would have potentially been more out of the way of the campaign. Instead, Trump’s lawyers are going to be in court and for the next two months, Trump’s legal problems and alleged role in the insurrection will be in front of the voters.
Trump’s legal problems have jumped back into the news at the worst possible time for the ex-president.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association