NEW: You might have heard folks say, in the wake of the Supreme Court immunity argument, that sending this case down for the district court to parse what is official versus personal could substantially prolong the time to trial. Enter Ex. A:
This is an order entered tonight in three civil cases against Trump for his role in 1/6; in those cases, the D.C. Circuit reaffirmed former presidents are entitled to civil immunity for acts even on the "outer perimeter" of their official duties.
But they held Trump had not yet shown his entitlement to such immunity and would instead have a chance to prove in the lower court that "his alleged actions in the runup to and on January 6 were taken in his official capacity as President."
That opinion was handed down on December 1, 2023. And now, in the last days of April, Judge Amit Mehta, the district court judge to whom the case has been assigned, has allowed the parties to conduct "immunity-related discovery" through September 11, 2024.
Now think about the criminal case before Judge Chutkan: In a world where the Supreme Court similarly decides there must be further lower court proceedings to determine whether Trump can mount an immunity defense, can that case be tried before 2025? Increasingly, I think not--and that might be the only win Trump wants or needs.
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