The decision 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 on 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.
Smith likewise asked the court to expedite the matter, which it agreed to, setting Trump’s deadline to respond by Dec. 20.
The Trump campaign called the judge’s move Wednesday a “big win” for the former president.
Chutkan’s ruling does not stay a gag order in the case or Trump’s conditions of release, which bar contacting witnesses or seeking to intimidate them.
Still, the matter could mean significant delays in a case where the government has fought any effort to bump back deadlines.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
