Trump asks Judge Chutkan to pause 'all proceedings' in D.C. elections case
Donald Trump on Wednesday evening asked Judge Chutkan to stay "all proceedings" in a case alleging he attempted to subvert the 2020 election after losing to President Joe Biden.
Trump, who has argued in court that his is totally immune from the suit because he was president at the time, doubled down on the key defense just last week. Trump's legal team at the time was responding to special counsel Jack Smith's filing, which said that Trump is "not above the law."
In that filing, the prosecutor dismantled the former president's argument that he is absolutely immune from prosecution due to his former office.
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Now, Trump is asking for a complete stay until his motion on immunity is formally resolved.
"President Donald J. Trump respectfully requests that this Court stay all proceedings in this case until the issues raised in his Motion to Dismiss the Indictment Based on Presidential Immunity, Doc. 74, are fully resolved," the filing states. "Here, President Trump has moved to dismiss based on his absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for acts within the outer perimeter of his Presidential responsibilities."
The new filing says:
"The prosecution has submitted its response, Doc. 109, and President Trump has replied, Doc. 122. The Court has not set oral argument. The Immunity Motion is therefore fully briefed and ripe for determination; however, the Court has not indicated when it intends to issue an order."
The Trump filing says the case should be stayed so Trump isn't forced to defend a suit from which he may be immune.