Judge Chutkan grants Donald Trump’s first request since new indictment

Judge Tanya Chutkan has granted Donald Trump’s request to skip his next appearance on election fraud charges.

Trump is set to be arraigned again on Thursday as prosecutor Jack Smith issued a new indictment based on the Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling on presidential immunity.

The former president’s lawyer will plead not guilty during a status hearing on Thursday.

Last year, Trump was indicted on four counts for allegedly working to illegally interfere with the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the January 6, 2021, riots at the US Capitol. The Republican presidential candidate has pleaded not guilty and said the case is part of a political witch hunt.

The latest indictment is nine pages shorter than the original and focuses much more on Trump’s actions as a private person, rather than his actions as president.

Newsweek Magazine He emailed the Trump campaign for comment on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Trump filed a request not to attend the arraignment. “I, President Donald J. Trump, the above-named defendant… do hereby waive my right to be present at the arraignment and authorize my attorneys to enter a plea of ​​not guilty on my behalf to any and all counts in the superseding indictment,” he wrote.

“I further declare that I have received a copy of the superseding indictment and have reviewed it with my attorney.”

Judge Chutkan wrote a brief order Tuesday stating that “Trump’s motion for exemption from the defendant’s presence at the arraignment is granted.”

He also announced that the arraignment will take place on Thursday. “The court will confirm the resignation and conduct the arraignment at the status conference scheduled for September 5, 2024,” he wrote.

Trump’s lawyers are currently seeking a delay in their election interference case in light of the Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling granting presidents broad immunity from prosecution.

In a filing before Magistrate Judge Chutkan on Friday, August 30, Trump’s lawyers suggested that the disclosure requests in the case should be reconsidered before the court even begins to assess the scope of presidential immunity in the case.

They suggested that pretrial motions should continue through January 2025 with “defense responses in support of the motions to dismiss and compel” on January 24, 2025, and a “non-evidentiary hearing on the motions to dismiss and compel” beginning the week of January 27, 2025, and likely continuing into February.

They also suggested “additional procedures, if necessary” in the spring and fall of 2025.

On July 1, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that presidents have broad immunity for their official acts. The court said presidents have absolute immunity for their fundamental political acts and some immunity for other acts committed as president, but not immunity for their strictly private conduct. It also ruled that official acts cannot be used as evidence if a case is brought against a president for unofficial acts — a part of the ruling that is highly relevant to the Trump case.