(CN) — The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's federal election subversion case in Washington granted a motion Wednesday to stay proceedings in the case while the appeals process plays out.
This week, Special Counsel Jack Smith's team asked the court to deny Trump's request to halt all proceedings and urged the judge to make sure that the trial set for next year is not delayed.
In the order, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the stay does not prevent her from enforcing the protective orders of discovery materials in the case, Trump's conditions of release, or the limited gag order that prohibits Trump from making statements about potential witnesses or threats against Smith and his team, or any court personnel.
"If jurisdiction is returned to this court, it will — consistent with its duty to ensure both a speedy trial and fairness for all parties—consider at that time whether to retain or continue the dates of any still-future deadlines and proceedings, including the trial scheduled for March 4, 2024," wrote Chutkan.
The move comes after Trump asked an appeals court last week to review a ruling that rejected his presidential immunity defense. He asked the court to pause all proceedings while his appeal awaits a ruling.
To avoid delaying the trial, Smith bypassed the appeals court and asked the Supreme Court on Monday to expedite consideration of Trump's presidential immunity claims.
Just hours later, the justices agreed to review the petition faster than normal, but the decision does not mean they will agree to hear Smith's case. The justices could still decide the D.C. Circuit needs to hear the case first, but there is precedent for skipping that step in significant cases such as this one.
While the D.C. Circuit has not had a chance to review Trump’s appeal, it recently dismissed his immunity claims in a a similar case brought by Democratic lawmakers and police officers seeking to sue the former president for his role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
On Dec. 1, Judge Chutkan ruled that former presidents don’t get a lifelong “get-out-of-jail-free” pass and have no special protections from federal criminal liability.
Trump’s presidential immunity argument followed his failed efforts to force Chutkan to recuse from his case. His legal arguments rest on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, which found that former President Richard Nixon had immunity from a civil suit related to his official duties. Trump’s reading of Fitzgerald would expand that liability to criminal charges.
Chutkan also rejected Trump's claims that the impeachment hearings following Jan. 6 cleared him of his role in the incident. Trump argued that putting him on trial in D.C. violates double jeopardy.
Smith has brought four criminal counts against Trump in D.C. related his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election by inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection to prevent the joint session of Congress from counting the electoral votes to certify the presidential win for Joe Biden. Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, outright obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
As with the 87 other criminal counts the former president faces elsewhere in the country, Trump pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in August. He has denounced the charges against him as "a persecution of a political opponent" as he seeks another presidential term for 2024.
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