Trump pleads not guilty through lawyer

Former President Donald Trump, through his lawyers, pleaded not guilty to the new indictment in his election interference trial as the case resumed Thursday after months of delays.

The hearing came a week after special counsel Jack Smith filed the new indictment, which revised the original Jan. 6 indictment to reflect the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling that Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for official acts committed while in office.

Latest developments

September 5, 11:27 am

Court adjourned, judge issues schedule

After the arguments were concluded, Judge Chutkan adjourned the hearing.

She said she would issue an order as soon as possible determining the next steps in the case.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was present at the hearing, left the hearing with several members of his team.

September 5, 11:20 a.m.

Judge: Both sides can make further requests

Judge Chutkan said she was inclined to allow either side to file additional motions or briefs related to Trump's team's legal objections to the case, but she also made clear that she believes those legal issues could be addressed simultaneously if the parties also seek to resolve immunity-related issues.

“Immunity is the key here,” and both issues could be addressed simultaneously, she said.

September 5, 11:03 am

Prosecutor says things can “move quickly”

Prosecutor Tom Windom made some closing arguments supporting the prosecution's case, including pointing out that Trump's legal team filed a 52-page motion to dismiss the New York hush-money case against him just nine days after the Supreme Court's immunity ruling.

“The defense can move broadly, quickly and well, and so can we,” and the judge should take that into account when setting the schedule in this case, Windom said.

Defense attorney John Lauro then said he wanted to speak briefly. Chutkan said it had to be brief, saying, “I don't need any more rhetoric about how serious and grave this is.”

“This is not rhetoric, this is called legal argumentation,” Lauro replied.

Lauro again insisted that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was illegal. “We have an illegitimate prosecutor. We have an illegitimate prosecution,” he said.

September 5, 11:05 am

Judge will not immediately decide on talks with Vice President

Judge Chutkan strongly rejected defense attorney John Lauro's claim that it would be unfair to Trump for the special counsel to file an opening defense to the prosecution following the Supreme Court's immunity decision.

Lauro says it would create a scenario in which the special counsel can determine what previously classified evidence to make public without giving Trump's team an opportunity to immediately respond in his defense. Lauro said there is a wealth of evidence still under seal that they would again make public that they believe clearly exonerates Trump.

“If they were to selectively decide how to present their case before we move to dismiss the case,” that would be a “fundamental injustice never seen before in a district court,” Lauro says.

Chutkan also rejects the notion that she must immediately decide that Trump's conversations with then-Vice President Mike Pence were immune in order to drop the charges.

She points out that the Supreme Court had the indictment before it and could have ruled that Trump's conversations with Pence were completely immune – but it did not do so.

September 5, 10:45 a.m.

Judge says she wants to see “progress”

Defense attorney John Lauro explains to Judge Chutkan that special counsel Jack Smith's team favors a “rushed verdict.”

Chutkan disputes that characterization, pointing out that the case has been pending for a year and saying that everyone knows that whatever decision she makes in this case will be appealed, which will delay the case again.

“Nobody here is under any illusion that we are heading toward a trial date,” Chutkan said.

“There must be progress in this case, regardless of when the elections take place,” she added.

September 5, 10:40 a.m.

Judge and defense argue over Supreme Court interpretation

Judge Chutkan is now pressing defense attorney John Lauro on the Trump team's request that Chutkan answer a series of questions related to the pretrial and prosecution – particularly those related to Trump's communications with then-Vice President Mike Pence – before prosecutors are allowed to file a written defense to the prosecution.

Chutkan acknowledged that it would be “procedurally unreasonable” to let Smith's team file its briefs first, but said judges “regularly” deviate from court rules.

“It is enormously detrimental to President Trump. I cannot imagine a more unfair protocol,” Lauro countered. “The special counsel has proposed a remedy that turns the criminal law on its head. There are no special rules for the special counsel.”

Lauro said that by allowing Smith's team to file its briefs first, Trump's team was being denied the opportunity to address key evidentiary issues.

Chutkan said these issues could be addressed while Smith's team was working on a case.

“We can all walk and chew gum at the same time,” she said.

Lauro went on to say that there is a “big problem” here because the Supreme Court has already ruled that the information contained in the indictment about communications between Trump and Pence relates to an official act.

Chutkan insisted, “No, I disagree, Mr. Lauro. They haven't decided that yet. They sent it back to me so I could find out.”

September 5, 10:29 am

Prosecutor proposes extensive defense

Judge Chutkan asked District Attorney Tom Windom about the timeline prosecutors would like to have to file the indictment, which would include several pieces of evidence such as grand jury transcripts and other evidence central to their case.

Windom says they are currently in the process of drafting a comprehensive defense of their lawsuit and hope to file it in 2-3 weeks, around the end of September. This essentially describes a comprehensive defense of their lawsuit in response to the Supreme Court's immunity decision, outlining in great detail all of the material evidence they plan to present at trial.

While it would not be a so-called “mini-trial,” as some legal experts had suggested, it would fully disclose the facts gathered by Special Counsel Jack Smith in his investigation into Trump, which Smith believes were private acts that could nevertheless be presented to a jury.

September 5, 10:24 am

We are not in a “typical situation,” says prosecutor

Judge Chutkan is pressing District Attorney Tom Windom because prosecutors want to immediately file a defense to the new charges, “before they have even been challenged by a motion to dismiss. That is not the usual procedure,” Chutkan said.

“I don’t think we’re in a typical situation,” Windom says.

“We are in a situation where the suspect has created new law … and the parties and courts should proceed rigorously to find the most practical and efficient way forward,” says the prosecutor.

Windom believes that all of the immunity issues raised by the Supreme Court ruling should be addressed simultaneously, and that the timeline set by Chutkan should allow for only one more interim appeal by Trump's team.

September 5, 10:13 am