The judge has denied former President Donald Trump's motion to dismiss the so-called election interference case.
Washington, D.C., U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan did so in a decision that she rendered on Friday, ABC News reports.
"Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass," Chutkan wrote.
She added, "Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability. Defendant's four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens."
Trump, as you can probably guess from Chutkan's decision, was asking for the case to be dismissed because he was protected from prosecution by presidential immunity.
In their dismissal motion, Trump's attorneys wrote:
Breaking 234 years of precedent, the incumbent administration has charged President Trump for acts that lie not just within the "outer perimeter," but at the heart of his official responsibilities as President. In doing so, the prosecution does not, and cannot, argue that President Trump's efforts to ensure election integrity, and to advocate for the same, were outside the scope of his duties.
The argument is that if the act is part of the president's special duties then Trump is immune from prosecution for the act under the doctrine of presidential immunity. But, Chutkan disagrees.
This will, no doubt, come as no surprise to Trump or his legal team given Chutkan's Democratic ties - including to Hunter Biden and her anti-Trump bias.
This is the same criminal case that special counsel Jack Smith, on behalf of the Biden administration, has filed against Trump, alleging that the former president, in various ways, interfered with the 2020 presidential election.
Trump has pled "not guilty" to the charges.
The New York Post reports:
Trump in August pleaded not guilty to charges of undertaking a "criminal scheme" to overturn the results of the 2020 election by enlisting a slate of so-called "fake electors," using the Justice Department to conduct "sham election crime investigations," trying to enlist the vice president to "alter the election results," and promoting false claims of a stolen election as the Jan. 6 riot raged -- all in an effort to subvert democracy and remain in power.
Trump has further maintained that Smith is essentially running election interference for President Joe Biden, given the fact that Biden and Trump are, according to the polls, likely to face each other again in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump and his legal team are expected to appeal Chutkan's denial of Trump's motion to dismiss.
Currently, the trial is scheduled to begin in early March 2024.
