Judge rebuffs Trump claim of Biden interference in 2020 probe

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump failed to prove that the federal indictment against him for trying to overturn the 2020 election results was an improper, politically motivated effort by the Biden administration to undermine his run for the White House, a federal judge ruled.

Trump “provides only speculation and his opinion that the government indicted him” for political reasons, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote in a decision released Saturday evening. She denied Trump’s request to dismiss the indictment.

The ruling marked Chutkan’s first major decision in the case in months and came one day after the Washington-based judge regained authority over the docket from the U.S. Supreme Court. The prosecution had been on hold while the former president and Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office fought in the highest court over whether he was immune from charges.

In a 6-3 decision last month, a majority of justices ruled that Trump was shielded from prosecution for at least some of the allegations and articulated a new, higher bar for when a president could be charged over actions they took while in office. They sent the case back to Chutkan to reconsider whether other parts of the indictment involved official acts by Trump that were covered by immunity.

Earlier on Saturday, Chutkan set a hearing for Aug. 16 to discuss next steps and ordered the parties to file a report by Aug. 9 with proposals for a schedule.

Much of the case will remain on hold as the immunity fight goes forward, but Trump’s motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that he was targeted for improper political or retaliatory reasons already had been fully briefed last year. The judge rebuffed a request by Trump’s lawyers to hear arguments in-person before ruling.

Selective or vindictive prosecution arguments traditionally are hard for any defendant to win. Chutkan found that Trump failed to present evidence that President Joe Biden directly lobbied Justice Department officials to prosecute him or that he was being treated differently from other people who engaged in similar conduct.

Chutkan wrote that Trump wasn’t being prosecuted simply for challenging Biden’s win, but for alleged criminal conduct that included making false statements to further a conspiracy and obstructing the electoral certification.

She also rejected his argument that he was charged in retaliation for his 2020 election contests or for refusing to plead guilty to a separate indictment that Smith’s team brought in Florida accusing him of mishandling state secrets.

News articles that Trump’s lawyers cited reflected a “conscientious investigation, not political animus” and that prosecutors were “especially cautious about investigating a political figure” like Trump, Chutkan wrote.

Spokespeople for Trump’s campaign and for Smith’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment.