Election interference judge slaps down mass 'coordinated' effort ahead of Trump hearing
A "coordinated" effort to claim victim status in former President Donald Trump's federal election interference case has been slapped down days before it returns to court, records show.
Judge Tanya Chutkan Tuesday rejected eight motions from anonymous parties who sought the right to file to the Washington D.C. docket under the Crime Victims Relief Act, court records show.
"They do not establish that they qualify as 'victim' under the CVRA's statutory definition," Chutkan ruled. "Consequently, the victim's rights enumerated in the CVRA do not attach...and the court is not persuaded that it is appropriate to depart from the ordinary course and permit this filing."
The initial filings do not appear on the public docket and it therefore remains unclear who stands behind what Business Insider legal correspondent Jacob Shamsian described as a "coordinated" effort. The fact that the filings are not public makes it unclear what their claims are.
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The spate of filings arrive after months of delay in the historic case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith against the former president.
Smith accused Trump in August 2023 of conspiring to defraud the U.S. and obstruct official proceedings as he whipped up a baseless election fraud frenzy ahead of the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump pleaded not guilty and took a presidential immunity challenge to the Supreme Court, which ruled last month that Trump was protected from prosecution when he pressured the Justice department to back his election fraud claims.
The ruling spurred Florida federal court judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss Smith's classified documents case against Trump, a ruling Smith has appealed.
Chutkan slapped down a dismissal demand from Trump over the weekend.
But the future of both cases hangs in the balance as former president's lawyers batter away at the prosecution and Trump makes his third run for the White House.
If Trump, the Republican nominee, is reelected, he could potentially kill both cases for good.
Chutkan has summoned both parties to a hearing on Aug. 16.