Judge Chutkan Hands Donald Trump a New Legal Hurdle

District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing Donald Trump’s federal election interference case, on Saturday denied the former president’s request to dismiss all charges in his case, citing presidential immunity.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged Trump with attempting to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in the events leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, but the former president argues he is immune from prosecution because he was in office when the alleged conspiracy occurred. Trump has claimed without evidence that the election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud. He has pleaded not guilty to all four criminal charges and says the case is politically motivated.

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on July 1 that former presidents have immunity for official actions taken in office but not for unofficial actions, the ruling went all the way to the U.S. District Court in Washington.

When the case returned to Chutkan, in a letter filed Saturday, she rejected Trump’s motion to dismiss the charges on the grounds that he lacked presidential immunity.

Trump, however, “may refile his motion once all immunity issues have been resolved,” the judge added in her letter.

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, via email Saturday morning for comment.

Chutkan originally set a March 2024 trial date for Trump, but the court proceedings were halted while the appeals were filed. Now that the case has been returned to Chutkan, she can resume the proceedings. In a motion filed Saturday, she scheduled a hearing on the case for Aug. 16.

However, it is unlikely that the trial will begin before the presidential election in November 2024.

Former U.S. Attorney and MSNBC legal analyst Barbara McQuade explained how Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith can still prosecute Trump despite the challenges the Supreme Court has thrown at his case.

McQuade told the MSNBC hosts Weekend in early July that “not only the accused but also society has the right to a speedy trial.”

“I think the more progress (Smith) makes before (potential) President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the more he can do on the other side. Certainly, things that were considered official acts, like Donald Trump’s interaction with the Justice Department, will be forgotten. Jack Smith has the ability to amend the indictment,” she said.

McQuade continued, “You don’t have to go back to the grand jury to eliminate things from the indictment that they’ve already found probable cause. So they can limit it to just the acts that they think were (off) record. Of course, the case will be decided, but the public will have an opportunity to see what the off-record acts were.”

In August 2023, Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy to violate rights.

Update 8/3/24 10:36 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.