Judge Tanya Chutkan on Wednesday put a hold on Donald Trump's election interference case in her courtroom while the DC Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether he has legal immunity. Her decision temporarily halts activity in the Trump case, the Hill reports, including all deadlines his team was facing. The former president had argued that he can't be prosecuted on charges that he attempted to overturn the 2020 election results because he was in office at the time. After Chutkan rejected that motion, Trump filed his appeal. The judge conceded Wednesday that the appeals process could cause the postponement of the March 4 trial date.
In an effort to cut to the chase, special counsel Jack Smith already has asked the Supreme Court to take up Trump's immunity argument. The justices gave Trump a Dec. 20 deadline for filing a response to Smith's request, per CBS News. And prosecutors asked the DC Circuit likewise to act quickly. Defense lawyers objected to all the hurrying, maintaining that the prosecution is trying to mess up their holiday travel plans, per CNN. The judge said that the limited gag order in effect against Trump stands, however. (More election interference indictment stories.)
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