Trump trials this week include Supreme Court Colorado ballot case – The Washington Post
We’re going to the Supreme Court this week to figure out if Donald Trump should be booted off the Colorado presidential primary ballot. This edition of the Trump Trials will explain what to expect in those oral arguments. And, of course, we’ll update you on the latest timing of Trump’s four criminal trials.
Have questions? Email us at perry.stein@washpost.com and devlin.barrett@washpost.com and check for answers in future newsletters.
Okay, let’s get started.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over whether a post-Civil War provision of the Constitution disqualifies Trump from holding office. The Colorado Supreme Court already ruled that Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol amounted to him participating in an insurrection — and thus he should be barred from running. Trump, the GOP presidential front-runner, has asked the Supreme Court to ensure that he can appear on ballots across the country.
We’re still waiting for an appeals court decision on Trump’s claim that he’s immune from prosecution for actions he took while in office — an issue that could also end up at the Supreme Court and, if Trump prevails, potentially lead to the dismissal of the federal election-obstruction case against him. Nearly four weeks have passed since a federal appeals court in D.C. heard oral arguments on that question. In the meantime, the case is frozen and the trial date scrapped (more on that below).
Separately, in a New York civil case, we’re waiting for Judge Arthur Engoron to decide how much Trump should pay for exaggerating the values of his properties and other assets to secure better financial terms. The New York attorney general seeks $370 million in penalties.
Here’s a recap of last week’s action in Trump’s four criminal cases.
The details: Four counts related to conspiring to obstruct the 2020 election results.
Planned trial date: TBD: Delayed from March 4
What happened: The writing was on the wall, and now it’s on the docket. As expected, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan dropped the March 4 start date from her calendar. That means the D.C. trial has officially been delayed, and we likely won’t get a sense of when pretrial proceedings will resume until the appeals process plays out. Which brings us to our …
Docket. The docket is a log of the history of a case — a rolling index of all the players, motions and orders. It lists the lawyers, parties and judge, as well as a short description of each court filing. Chutkan’s postponement of the Jan. 6 federal trial became official Friday, with a docket entry scrubbing the March 4 date.
The details: Trump faces 13 state charges for allegedly trying to undo the election results in that state. Four of his 18 co-defendants have pleaded guilty.
Planned trial date: None yet
What happened: The big news again centered around the Fulton County district attorney’s relationship with the outside prosecutor she hired to work on the case. District Attorney Fani T. Willis acknowledged she had a personal relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade. But she denied their romance tainted the proceedings and said claims that the case should be dismissed because of it are “meritless.”
The details: Trump faces 40 federal charges over accusations that he kept top-secret government documents at Mar-a-Lago — his home and private club — and thwarted government demands to return them.
Planned trial date: May 20
What happened: As we await a key March 1 scheduling hearing, prosecutors continue to spar with Trump lawyers over his claims that the charges against him were somehow concocted by deep state bureaucrats acting in concert with Biden administration political operatives.
In a Friday court filing, prosecutors lambasted Trump for claiming the government is hiding evidence of political machinations behind his indictment.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s office also denied claims by Trump’s lawyers that he held a high level “Q” security clearance long after he left office, saying that a paperwork error at the Energy Department kept his name on a list for such clearances, but he didn’t actually have one.
The details: 34 charges connected to a 2016 hush money payment.
Planned trial date: March 25
What happened: Legal experts have long considered this case to be weakest of the bunch. But with the delay of the D.C. federal case, it now appears to be the first of the four criminal cases headed to trial. A scheduling decision is expected at a Feb. 15 hearing.
Q. A New York jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming writer E Jean. Carroll. So why isn’t he a registered sex offender?
A. Trump was found liable in a civil trial, which is not the same thing as being found guilty in a criminal trial. In a civil trial, the jury decides if the burden of proof has been met by a “preponderance of the evidence.” In other words, jurors are convinced there is a 51 percent chance or better — more likely than not — that an allegation is true.
The burden of proof is much higher for jury verdicts in criminal cases — “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Civil cases typically involve financial penalties, while criminal cases can carry far more severe penalties, including prison time, probation, or, depending on the type of case, registering as a sex offender.
We answered a whole bunch more questions last week during a Reddit AMA. Check them out here.
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Did Trump commit insurrection on Jan. 6? SCOTUS could decide