What to know about reindictment against Trump
What to know about the new indictment against Trump over 2020 election
02:52
Washington — Federal prosecutors and attorneys for former President Donald Trump presented opposing arguments for how special counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election-related case against Trump will move forward, according to court documents filed late Friday.
“The parties recognize the types of motions and briefing anticipated in pre-trial proceedings but have differing views on how the Court should schedule these matters and the manner in which they are to be conducted,” the joint filing said.
Smith argued the court should “first and foremost” make rulings tied to issues of presidential immunity as outlined by the Supreme Court, indicating the court should promptly move forward with the case.
“The Government proposes that it file an opening brief in which it will explain why the immunity set forth in Trump does not apply to the categories of allegations in the superseding indictment or additional unpled categories of evidence that the Government intends to introduce at trial and will proffer in its brief,” prosecutors wrote.
Meanwhile, the former president’s legal team urged the court to give the parties more time to go over the potential legal questions and proposed a schedule that would bring the case into the spring or fall of 2025, about two years after the charges were first filed.
“President Trump holds the right to challenge the new indictment, and the underlying grand jury process, as a matter of law,” his team wrote, adding later, “We believe, and expect to demonstrate, that this case must end as a matter of law.”
The filing responds to U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan’s request for proposals from each side about how to proceed in the wake of July’s Supreme Court decision that granted Trump some presidential immunity from criminal prosecution.
The high court’s conservative majority ruled presidents and former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” they take during their presidency.
Some of the conduct alleged in Smith’s original indictment, such as Trump’s discussions with the Justice Department in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, was explicitly disqualified from the charges, according to the July opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts. But other conduct, including interactions with campaign officials and private attorneys, could be examined.
It is now up to Chutkan to decide how to apply the Supreme Court’s ruling to the charges against Trump. But before she could weigh in, Smith secured a superseding indictment against the former president on Tuesday, in which prosecutors removed the alleged conduct deemed by Roberts to be covered by presidential immunity.
Trump still faces the same four federal counts — including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. — in a charging document that describes an alleged plot to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump pleaded not guilty to the original 2023 indictment and has continued to deny any wrongdoing.