The criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election is set to resume following a ruling by the US Supreme Court. The ruling, which granted former presidents broad immunity, has now taken effect, returning the case to the control of the presiding trial judge.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan has regained jurisdiction over the case, allowing her to issue a scheduling order for the proceedings. This includes the possibility of holding public hearings to determine how the immunity decision will be applied. The Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's immunity claim was issued last month, but the case has now been formally returned to Chutkan's control after the waiting period for rehearing requests.

The way Judge Chutkan handles the case is highly consequential, as it could have far-reaching implications for the scope of the charges and the impact on the November presidential election. Trump faces allegations of orchestrating a wide-ranging effort to undermine the election results, including conspiring to obstruct the certification of the results, defrauding the government, and disenfranchising voters.

The alleged illegal conduct involves Trump's involvement in pressuring Justice Department officials to initiate baseless investigations, obstructing Congress from certifying the election, and his role in encouraging the Capitol attack. Additionally, Trump is accused of devising a plan to recruit fake electors. However, the Supreme Court established that presidential criminal accountability falls under three categories, categorizing acts by their level of immunity.

Trump's legal team is expected to argue that Judge Chutkan can determine the immunity of the conduct solely based on legal arguments, eliminating the need for witness testimony or multiple evidentiary hearings. Their argument will center around the assertion that all charged conduct was performed in Trump's official capacity as president and is therefore presumptively immune, shifting the burden of proof to the prosecutors.

While the Supreme Court mentioned the possibility of fact-finding through evidentiary hearings, Trump's lawyers intend to dispute this by suggesting that disputes can be resolved purely on legal grounds. This strategy aims to prevent politically and legally damaging witness testimony from taking place, as it could reveal Trump's efforts to subvert the 2020 election.

Trump's defense team has indicated that they expect some evidentiary hearings to occur but are determined to challenge testimony from figures such as former Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials. If prosecutors attempt to call Pence or his Chief of Staff, Marc Short, to testify about meetings in which Trump discussed halting the certification on January 6, Trump's lawyers will argue for executive privilege and the protection of the speech or debate clause.

This case has already experienced significant delays, with Trump successfully persuading the Supreme Court to consider the immunity appeal, effectively freezing the proceedings. The delay strategy has been aimed at pushing the resolution of the case until after the November election, with hopes of Trump's re-election leading to the appointment of a loyalist Attorney General who would drop the charges.

However, even if Trump loses the election, his legal team has formulated a strategy that could prolong the resolution of the case for months, depending on how prosecutors choose to proceed with evidentiary hearings. This would likely be followed by additional appeals regarding the determination of whether Trump's actions were official acts or not.