Judge Chutkan just put Donald Trump’s criminal trial back in motion
The Supreme Court’s ruling in the Donald Trump immunity case was corrupt and absurd, but it did have the effect of clearing the way for a modified version of the criminal case against Trump to be put back into motion.
Sure enough, after Judge Tanya Chutkan received notification from the Supreme Court yesterday that she was able to resume the proceedings, she issued a pair of new rulings today. First, she denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the case entirely. Second, she set a hearing for August 16th to discuss how to move forward with the criminal case.
This doesn’t mean the trial is going to happen before the election. There are still additional procedural hurdles to get past first. But Judge Chutkan could, for instance, hold an evidentiary hearing before the election. This would include witnesses testifying against Trump and other aspects of a trial without a trial.
In any case this is a good reminder that Trump is going to spend the rest of this election cycle dogged by his ongoing legal problems, and that once he loses the election he is going to end up in prison. Trump also has a sentencing hearing set for next month in his New York criminal case, where he’s been convicted of 34 felonies.
