Dem
49
GOP
51
The Supreme Court threw a monkey wrench in the works with its decision that a president is king-lite. So now Judge Tanya Chutkan has to decide if the superseding indictment Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed complies with the Supreme Court ruling. In it, Smith has carefully removed all references to activities that Donald Trump engaged in that are part of his job. For example, he is clearly allowed to speak to DoJ officials, so probably he is allowed to order them to break the law. In the superseding indictment, all evidence that might be related to the president's official duties has been excised. Also, Smith empaneled a new grand jury that has not been polluted with witnesses who might not be allowed to testify based on the Supreme Court decision.
The ball is now in the court of U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. She is expected to preside over a hearing today where she is likely to explain how she intends to go forward. She is a no-nonsense judge and will not tolerate frivolous motions whose only purpose is to stall the case. She has also said that she sees Trump as a criminal defendant, not a presidential candidate, and doesn't believe his candidacy should have any bearing on the case. She earlier said that hearings to determine if the case can go to trial do not require Trump's presence in court, so he can't use his campaigning as a reason to delay the hearings. Only his lawyers have to be present in court during the hearings.
In the hearings, if they happen, Smith will argue that Trump's calling on a mob to invade the Capitol was not part of the president's job description, so the Supreme Court's decision simply does not apply to the case. Trump's lawyers think that there are lots of legal reasons not to have a trial, at least not now. In the past, Chutkan has had little tolerance for such arguments. Today we may learn more about how she wants to proceed. (V)