Trump lawyers seek delay until after Election Day in court battle over impact of immunity ruling in interference case | The Times Of Update

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Friday proposed a court timetable his federal election interference case That would delay a court battle over whether his charges are covered by immunity until after the election — and push the start of any potential trial well after the next inauguration.

Special counsel Jack Smith has argued for a very different approach to scheduling the trial, saying the court should immediately begin considering arguments about whether Trump’s actions are covered by presidential immunity, a process his office has said will include uncovering new evidence.

“The government stands ready to file its immunity opening brief expeditiously at any time the court deems appropriate,” wrote Molly Gaston, the government’s principal deputy special counsel.

But Trump’s legal team wants to address other issues before addressing the question of whether the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year renders some of the charges against him moot.

United States District Judge Chutkan asked set a hearing for Thursday to discuss the future schedule of the case, which was originally scheduled to go to trial in March 2024.

While Trump’s lawyers never explicitly invoked the ongoing election, the timeline outlined in the new filing would not allow the special counsel to make new substantive arguments until after voting is complete. Trump is accused of attempting to defraud the American public and disenfranchise voters in multiple states as part of his multifaceted effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election by falsely claiming it was stolen, culminating in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. He has continued to falsely insist that the election was stolen and has begun to suggest that the upcoming election could also be subject to fraud that would deprive him of the presidency.

If Trump wins the November election, he will likely be able to end the cases against him before a trial can take place once his appointees take over the Justice Department in January.

Trump’s lawyers said they are “considering multiple appeals” against the superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury earlier this week, arguing that their appeals “should be resolved in his favor as a matter of law and would obviate the need for further proceedings.” One of their appeals will be to challenge the legality of Smith’s nomination, repeating an argument that helped them win dismissal of separate charges in federal court in Florida — but a point his lawyers previously chose not to raise in the election interference case.

Attorney General Merrick Garland told NBC News last month that he did not agree with a decision In July, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida ruled that Smith’s appointment was illegal.

“Do I look like someone who would make this fundamental mistake about the law?” asked Garland, who was a former…