The federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump came to a halt on Wednesday. It has been noted that Trump’s campaign hailed the latest development as a major victory via Western Journal.
The former president and leading GOP contender in the 2024 race has claimed that his actions in battling against the results of the 2020 presidential election come under the series of his duties as president. He believes that he should be protected by the immunity that covers the office. That would mean the charges against him would be thrown out.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan disagreed in a fiery Dec. 1 ruling that said Trump’s “four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens,” according to CNN.
Trump appealed the ruling, beginning a chain of appeals that is not likely to stop until it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court. On Wednesday, Chutkan issued an order recognizing that the case might not make it to trial if Trump is successful in his appeal.
“Defendant’s appeal automatically stays any further proceedings that would move this case towards trial or impose additional burdens of litigation on Defendant,” the judge wrote, adding that the ruling “STAYS the deadlines and proceedings scheduled by its Pretrial Order, as amended.”
The ruling noted that the pause lasts only as long as the appeals process continues and that any delay to the scheduled March 4 trial date would be considered based on the time it takes for the court system to deal with the former president’s appeal.
