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LDonald Trump’s trial over the 2020 presidential election might not happen earlier than the election, however the proceedings promise to deliver twists and turns he most likely would have most well-liked to keep away from, beginning later this month. On Thursday morning, a significant new listening to befell within the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and the primary change set the temper immediately. “You all look great, it’s been almost a year,” Judge Tanya Chutkan informed Trump’s military of attorneys, John Lauro, Todd Blanche, Emil Bove, and Gregory Singer, the 5 defendants within the case. “Life has been almost meaningless without seeing you,” Lauro replied. “Enjoy it while you can,” Chutkan mentioned. So a lot for politeness.

About a dozen marshals have been within the courtroom, as Tanya Chutkan and particular counsel Jack Smith confronted dying threats. Donald Trump himself was not there, and his attorneys entered not responsible pleas on his behalf. The listening to was to resolve what to do subsequent after the Supreme Court dominated that the previous president was immune from prosecution for his official actions.

Already a 12 months of twists and turns

Timeline: On August 23, 2023, Donald Trump was indicted by Jack Smith, who was appointed to Trump-related issues by Attorney General Merrick Garland to guard the Justice Department from accusations of partisan bias. The fees have been: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit such fraud, conspiracy towards the rights of Americans, and obstruction of due course of. The trial was scheduled to start on March 4, within the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

In October 2023, Donald Trump's attorneys argued that his conduct was protected by presidential immunity. Judge Tanya Chutkan dominated towards him in December 2023, a choice upheld by the appeals courtroom in January 2024. Trump then appealed to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments from either side on April 25.

And the 1er In July, Chief Justice John Roberts lastly dominated: “The nature of presidential power requires that a former president be immune from suit for official acts while in office.” For acts “within the scope of his official responsibility,” that immunity is “presumptive,” and the burden is on the Justice Department to show {that a} lawsuit “would not intrude” on the authority and features of the chief department. “For unofficial acts, there is no immunity,” he added.

How Jack Smith sought to counter presumed immunity

So Jack Smith convened a brand new grand jury that reviewed the proof and issued a brand new indictment final week. It's 9 pages shorter, and the part on Trump's interactions with Justice Department officers is gone. The Supreme Court had not dominated on Trump's strain on Vice President Mike Pence.

“Whenever the president and vice president discuss their official responsibilities, they are performing an official act,” Justice Roberts wrote. But the vice chairman’s duty to certify the votes rests with him by advantage of his workplace as president of the Senate, not with the chief department. She left it to Jack Smith to show he may overcome the presumptive immunity. That was the primary level of debate in courtroom Thursday morning.

Lauro requested that the difficulty be determined by Judge Tanya Chutkan earlier than contemplating the deserves of the case. If the conversations with Mike Pence are protected by immunity, he reiterated, your entire case ought to be thrown out as a result of the case introduced to the grand jury could have been “infected by evidence that is protected by immunity.” Conversely, prosecutor Thomas Windom argued that even when the details associated to Mike Pence have been excluded, it didn’t “throw out the entire prosecution.”

The election [de novembre prochain] has nothing to do with what is occurring right here. This courtroom doesn’t care concerning the electoral calendar.Judge Tanya Chutkan

Judge Tanya Chutkan herself argued that she needed to think about these points in mild of the details of the case. So Windom proposed a report that would come with all of the proof that the brand new indictment complied with the Supreme Court ruling “within two to three weeks.” Knowing that the protection would take the case again to the Supreme Court, he needed it to occur solely as soon as, by placing collectively in a single doc: the grand jury transcripts, the FBI interviews, and the proof. Judge Chutkan may then resolve what might be retained within the indictment.

An explosive report revealed one month earlier than the following presidential election

The prospect of those details being made public instantly prompted Lauro’s response. Because whereas lots of them could be primarily based on details revealed in the course of the January 6 Commission hearings, others may come from individuals who refused to testify, similar to Mike Pence. The headlines they’d generate in mid-October, within the remaining stretch of the presidential marketing campaign and as some states are voting early, might be explosive.

It would come “at a very sensitive time in our nation’s history,” Lauro argued. “Let’s talk about this sensitive time,” mentioned Tanya Chutkan, leaning again in her chair and folding her arms. “I understand that an election is coming. I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, that the election has nothing to do with what’s happening here. This court doesn’t care about the election calendar.”

The tone of the exchanges typically heated, as when John Lauro mentioned that the process proposed by the prosecution introduced “a huge prejudice to his client” and insisted on the unprecedented nature of the trial of a president. “I don't need the rhetoric about the seriousness and gravity of all this,” the choose replied. “That's not rhetoric, that's called a legal argument,” John Lauro replied in flip.

The “October surprise” that might occur on September 26

Lauro additionally cited Florida Judge Aileen Cannon’s latest resolution to dismiss a lawsuit over categorized paperwork saved by Trump at Mar-a-Lago on the grounds that Smith’s appointment was “unconstitutional”—a choice that the prosecutor has appealed. Chutkan responded that she didn’t discover the ruling “particularly compelling,” nor did she discover Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ opinion, which Cannon relied on, compelling. There can be a precedent in Washington that the appointment of particular counsels is constitutional. She did, nevertheless, comply with let Trump’s attorneys file a movement to that impact.

Late within the afternoon, as introduced, Tanya Chutkan introduced the next steps: the particular counsel will problem his report on September 26. Trump's attorneys will then have till October 17 to reply, after which the particular counsel till October 29 to reply. Tanya Chutkan, in the course of the listening to, thought of that it was “futile” to set a trial date for now, and that it will not happen “for months.”

Donald Trump was additionally convicted of falsifying the Trump Organization's accounts to affect an election (the Stormy Daniels case) in New York. His sentencing, set for July 11, was postponed to September 18 due to the Supreme Court ruling, however it’s unclear whether or not it is going to be postponed once more. His two different trials, for the categorized paperwork in Florida and for his makes an attempt to reverse the end result of the 2020 election in Georgia, are on maintain.

And if Donald Trump wins, he can hearth Jack Smith and dismiss the federal trials, each the one associated to the 2020 election and the one over the categorized paperwork. Still, Thursday morning's listening to should not have happy Donald Trump. Before each election, individuals discuss concerning the “October surprise.” This time, it may come as early as September 26.



https://www.lepoint.fr/monde/proces-de-donald-trump-pour-l-election-de-2020-un-nouveau-calendrier-et-des-surprises-06-09-2024-2569566_24.php

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