Trump lawyer, judge clash

Defence says prosecutors rushing indictment ahead of presidential vote

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WASHINGTON The federal election interference case against Donald Trump inched forward Thursday, with a judge permitting prosecutors to file court documents this month that could detail unflattering allegations about the former president as the Republican nominee enters the final weeks of his White House run.

The order came hours after a court hearing, the first in the case in nearly a year, in which U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan sparred with a Trump lawyer who accused the government of trying to rush ahead with an “illegitimate” indictment in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Chutkan made clear she would not let the upcoming election affect how she proceeds, turning aside defence efforts to delay the process while also acknowledging the case is nowhere close to a trial date. “There’s no rush to judgment here,” Chutkan said.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers are at odds over the next steps in the case after the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the prosecution by ruling former presidents are entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges. The duelling proposals and testy courtroom exchanges Thursday reflected the extent to which the justices’ July opinion had upended the path of the case that charges Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.