A tense hearing unfolded in one of former US President Donald Trump's four criminal cases as his defence team questioned the legitimacy of the proceedings.
Thursday's hearing took place before U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, DC, where Trump faces four felony charges for attempting to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Trump himself was not present at the trial, but defense attorney John Lauro questioned the validity of the charges and the timing of the case from the start.
“We could be facing an illegitimate accusation from the beginning,” Lauro told the court.
He also said that a recent Supreme Court decision granting presumptive immunity for a range of presidential actions should result in the case being dismissed outright.
“We want an orderly process that does justice to the Supreme Court’s opinion,” he said.
But it was Lauro's suggestion that the court's actions were unfair that sparked a heated exchange with Judge Chutkan.
Lauro called the proceedings “enormously damaging” to Trump, who is currently running as a Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election.
“This process is inherently unfair, particularly during this sensitive time,” Lauro told Chutkan.
The judge responded quickly, saying her only concern was the four criminal charges before her in court. “The timing of the election,” she explained, “was not relevant” to her decisions.
“This court is not concerned about the electoral calendar,” he said. “It is not something that it will consider.”
Lauro remained steadfast throughout the hearing: “We are talking about the presidency of the United States,” he said at one point.
But Chutkan was quick to dismiss that argument: “I am not talking about the presidency of the United States. I am talking about a four-count indictment,” he replied.
Lauro questioned why Trump’s defense team is trying to delay the trial until after the election. Meanwhile, Lauro said prosecutors were “rushing to a decision” with their court filings.
However, Chutkan dismissed any suggestion that the case was progressing too quickly.
“This case has been pending for over a year,” he said. “We are not nearly there.”
Thursday's hearing was one of the first in nearly a year, something Chutkan and Lauro joked about earlier in the day.
“Life was almost meaningless without seeing you,” Lauro said in a relaxed moment with the judge.
“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Chutkan replied.
The criminal case in Washington DC has been delayed several times as courts weigh the question of Trump's immunity from any criminal prosecution. Trump had claimed “absolute” immunity for any actions taken while he was president, from 2017 to 2021.
On July 1, the Supreme Court issued a decision that dismissed any claim to absolute immunity, but nonetheless granted broad “presumptive immunity” to any “official” action the president might take.
The decision itself did not clearly outline what constitutes “official” or “unofficial” action, but suggested that interactions with government officials like the vice president would be protected from prosecution.
The ruling was therefore seen as an expansion of presidential power beyond what is established in the US Constitution.
In August, in response to the Supreme Court decision, the prosecution in the Washington, D.C., case — led by special counsel Jack Smith — issued an updated indictment against Trump that focused on actions it deemed “unofficial.”
These include actions Trump took as a presidential candidate in the 2020 election cycle and actions taken during his reelection campaign.
The four charges facing Trump remain the same: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy to impede the free exercise of his constitutional rights.
Those charges stem from his actions after the 2020 election, which he lost to Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump repeatedly claimed the result was “rigged,” and he and his allies are accused of pressuring election officials to change the outcome.
After encouraging his supporters to continue fighting for the results, thousands of people invaded the US Capitol building, in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College votes on January 6, 2021.
On Thursday, Trump's defense team formally re-entered its not guilty plea to the superseding indictment. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all of the criminal cases against him so far.
When Lauro, the defense attorney, suggested that the recent Supreme Court case would nullify the interactions included in the updated indictment, Chutkan stood his ground.
“No, they didn’t decide that,” he said. “I have to decide that.”
