Federal judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to map out how Donald Trump's election interference case will play out before a new president is sworn in early next year, but a legal expert doesn't think she'll pause proceedings until then.
Chutkan will preside over a hearing Thursday in the District of Columbia in which she will likely offer new details of how she will apply the U.S. Supreme Court's immunity ruling to Trump's indictment, but MSNBC's Lisa Rubin said the former president's attorneys will likely be disappointed by her timeline.
"I think Judge Chutkan is not going to agree with the schedule Trump's lawyers have proposed," Rubin said. "They don't want to move to dismiss the case until December and they proposed a bunch of intervening steps, including telling her they need more discovery, essentially to tell her why the former president is entirely immune from prosecution. That's not likely to fly with her."
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Special counsel Jack Smith's office filed a superseding indictment last month that strips some portions of the case in the wake of the immunity ruling, which shields official acts from prosecution, and focuses on other evidence that prosecutors will argue falls outside the scope of Trump's duties as president.
"The Department of Justice, through the special counsel's office, has said they're ready to file a brief as soon as she says go to tell her why they have complied with the Supreme Court's immunity ruling," Rubin added. "I'm interested in seeing how that plays out. My guess is neither side will get its complete way, but the judge will probably be closer to what the special counsel wants."
"I do expect that Judge Chutkan will order briefing before the election," Rubin added, "but do I expect it to be resolved? Not a chance. This is going to go back through the Supreme Court before we get a trial in this matter, if at all."
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