Judge pauses Trump's Jan. 6 case amid appeal to toss it

A federal judge agreed Wednesday to pause proceedings in Donald Trump’s election interference case while the former president appeals a decision rejecting his efforts to toss the case.

The decisions from Judge Tanya Chutkan “automatically stays any further proceedings that would move this case towards trial or impose additional burdens of litigation on Defendant.”

Trump last week appealed an order from Chutkan that rejected his motion to dismiss the Jan. 6 case, likewise asking that she halt activity in the case while his appeal proceeds.

The move comes as Trump has argued the courts should dismiss the case both on the concept of presidential immunity, as well as constitutional grounds, including the First Amendment.

The maneuver by Trump threatens to upend a March 4 trial date in the case and comes after prosecutors have argued the former president is simply using every avenue possible to disrupt the case in the hopes of punting the matter beyond the 2024 election.

Special Counsel Jack Smith followed Trump’s appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals with his own petition to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to weigh in on Trump’s immunity defense.

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