US judge schedules Aug. 16 conference in Trump election interference case

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) - A US federal judge has scheduled a conference for Aug. 16 with defense and prosecution teams in an election interference case against former President Donald Trump, according to local media.

The conference with District Judge Tanya Chutkan will determine a schedule for pretrial proceedings, according to a late Saturday court filing reported by NBC news.

In the same filing, Chutkan denied Trump's motion to dismiss the indictment but said he could "file a renewed motion once all issues of immunity have been resolved."

This decision follows a Supreme Court ruling last month which granted Trump some level of immunity for conduct related to the case. The Supreme Court directed lower courts to determine what specific conduct Trump could be prosecuted for and ruled that any conduct deemed official and immune cannot be used as evidence during a trial.

Trial proceedings before Chutkan had been on hold as the case made its way to the Supreme Court.

Now that it is back with the judge, who will decide which parts of Trump’s conduct, as outlined in the indictment, were official and so immune from prosecution.

Both parties are required to submit a status report to Chutkan by Aug. 9, detailing a proposed schedule for pretrial proceedings. The report should be filed jointly. This necessitates a meeting between the parties to discuss a proposed schedule, a standard practice in federal cases.

The timeline for the case moving to trial is still unclear, and Trump – who is seeking a return to the White House – is not required to attend the Aug. 16 hearing.