The Supreme Court has gifted Donald Trump with an expansive redefinition of unquestionable presidential powers — one that weakens any case against the former president for trying to overturn the 2020 election and threatens severe delays in the proceedings.
Most of the toughest decisions will land in the lap of Judge Tanya Chutkan, the U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C., who is presiding over the federal trial on special counsel Jack Smith’s case stemming from Trump’s actions in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, election certification.
She now has to determine at least three key questions about presidential authority — and every one of them could be appealed to the Supreme Court, almost certainly delaying trial until well after the election.