Following the Supreme Court’s decision granting partial immunity to Donald Trump, the most pressing concern is: what will happen next in special counsel Jack Smith’s case against the former president for election interference?
The next step, assuming Smith continues, will be to present written arguments and possibly even proceedings in Washington, DC, before US District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
There is currently no indication on Chutkan’s docket regarding the next actions to be taken in the trial court, and the special counsel’s office has not publicly replied to the judgment.
Those are certain to follow in the days following the formal delivery of the opinion to the federal courts in DC by the Supreme Court. Although it can take up to a month for a case to be sent back down the chain of command, the high court has the authority to move swiftly in response to a party’s request.
Additional appeals may cause Chutkan to reschedule the case once he resolves the legal concerns. Because of this, it’s possible that Trump won’t face trial this year—if he does, at all. To be sure, judges aren’t always easy to gauge.
Donald Trump’s immunity and lack thereof
The Supreme Court granted Trump complete protection from one set of charges, which concerned his and his associates’ attempts to weaponize the Justice Department.
Lower courts will need to do “fact-specific” and perhaps “challenging” analysis about the various other types of accusations, according to Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion.
Prosecutors now have the burden of proving that Trump’s campaign to coerce Vice President Pence into helping him reverse the election is not immune, as the Supreme Court has ruled that it is “presumptively” immune.
Regarding Trump’s attempts to invalidate the results at the state level, including the use of bogus electors, the high court directed lower courts to determine which actions constituted official acts and which did not.
“Assessment of numerous alleged interactions with a wide variety of state officials and private persons” will be necessary, according to Roberts, for the analysis.
In addition, the lower courts will need to determine what actions taken by Trump on January 6th and his remarks that incited the disturbance in the Capitol constitute formal presidential acts. “What else was said contemporaneous to the excerpted communications, or who was involved in transmitting the electronic communications and in organizing the rally” could be relevant factors for lower courts to consider when determining which communications are immune, according to Roberts.
If Chutkan does issue a ruling regarding the nature of official acts, Trump may decide to challenge the decision to the DC Circuit court and, eventually, the Supreme Court.
It is highly improbable that this case goes to a jury before Americans vote for president, according to the Supreme Court’s decision, since those appeals would have to be settled before trial.
Jack Smith’s future possibilities
Additionally, Smith’s office may narrow his case so it conforms to the Supreme Court’s ruling. This may entail removing portions of their intended presentation to the jury or perhaps revising the indictment against Trump to remove any allegations of wrongdoing pertaining to his official duties as president.
The special counsel’s office will also face challenges in prosecuting the case due to the Supreme Court’s decision to exclude any information that may be seen as the president’s official activities.
Even yet, the schedule can go by fast with Chutkan—maybe even in a matter of weeks for briefings and hearings.
