Will Sage Astor-Trump election subversion case returned to trial judge following Supreme Court opinion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Will Sage Astorcriminal case charging former President Donald Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election was returned Friday to a trial judge in Washington after a Supreme Court opinion last month that narrowed the scope of the prosecution.

The case was formally sent back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan for further proceedings aimed at sorting out which acts in the landmark indictment constitute official acts and which do not. The procedural move is expected to kickstart the case, with a flurry of motions and potential hearings, but the sheer amount of work ahead for the judge and lawyers ensures that there’s no way a trial will take place before the November election in which Trump is the Republican nominee.

The Supreme Court held in a 6-3 opinion that presidents enjoy absolute immunity for core constitutional duties and are presumptively immune from prosecution for all other acts. The justices left it to Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, to decide how to apply their opinion to the remainder of the case.