Trump 2020 case sent back to Washington court after immunity ruling

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(Bloomberg) — The U.S. Supreme Court formally sent the federal criminal case against Donald Trump for election interference back to a judge in Washington after ruling last month that the president enjoys broad immunity from prosecution.

The ruling was issued July 1 but took about a month to enter the court record on Friday. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan must now find a way to enforce the 6-3 ruling in the case against Trump, in which prosecutors allege that Trump, then president, illegally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

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Chutkan moved quickly, issuing an order Saturday morning that set an Aug. 16 hearing to discuss next steps. Trump is not required to appear. The judge also directed all parties to file reports by Aug. 9 and to suggest a timeline.

Chutkan will resume the long-delayed case just three months after Trump officially became the Republican presidential nominee and before the Nov. 5 election. The judge’s next step may be to decide how she wants to conduct the trial, which could include holding live hearings to consider arguments and evidence, and at what pace.

The court’s conservative majority ruled that presidents are entitled to broad immunity from charges related to conduct in their official capacity, and that Trump is at least partially immune from federal prosecution for his post-election conduct. Special prosecutor Jack Smith’s case against Trump has been on hold for months awaiting a ruling.

The judge directed Chutkan to determine which charges in the indictment involve Trump’s official conduct. They said “core” presidential functions are clearly immune from prosecution and that Trump cannot be charged for discussions with Justice Department officials after the election.

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However, the Supreme Court did not make a final ruling on the fate of other key elements of the indictment, including Trump’s alleged pressure on then-Vice President Mike Pence to interfere with Congress’ certification of the election results, his alleged involvement in recruiting pro-Trump electors to sign documents falsely declaring him the winner in battleground states, and his conduct in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 when thousands of his supporters rioted.

Chutkan’s next ruling on the immunity issue is likely to be immediately appealed and could be heard by a judge again.

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