Judge Order a Halt of Trump’s Jan. 6 Case
A federal judge granted a request from special counsel Jack Smith to pause deadlines in President-elect Donald Trump’s election interference case.
On Friday, Smith’s team released a brief regarding the developments of the case.
Smith’s team wrote “As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025. The Government respectfully requests that the Court vacate the remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”
This decision follows Smith’s recent discussions with Justice Department officials about steps to conclude Trump’s federal criminal cases, including those involving charges in Florida related to his retention of classified documents.
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) advises against charging a sitting president with a crime.
“The Department concluded that the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions,” the OLC, which helps craft the department’s policies, determined in a 1973 memo.
Smith charged Trump with four felonies in this case, alleging he conspired to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Trump’s attorneys are required to file written arguments by November 21st, outlining their rationale for why the indictment should be dismissed in light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.
Deadlines for further filings on immunity and other matters are scheduled for the weeks surrounding the presidential transition.
According to the filing, the president-elect did not oppose suspending the upcoming deadlines. However, Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the trial, approved the request within minutes.
Smith stated he would provide another update to the court by December 2nd to “inform the Court of the result of its deliberations.”
In Trump’s Florida documents case, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the charges, ruling that Smith’s appointment was unlawful; Smith has since appealed this decision.
Trump’s attorneys argue that his status as president-elect warrants an immediate suspension of all four criminal prosecutions against him.
The special counsel has not yet moved to pause Trump’s other case involving charges of mishandling classified documents and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Attorneys for the president-elect are also expected to seek the cancellation of his upcoming sentencing in New York on 34 charges of falsifying business records, as well as a suspension of his election interference case in Georgia.
Smith’s filing was submitted shortly before a letter from House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chair of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, requesting that the special counsel preserve all records related to his investigation.
“The Office of Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or above accountability for its actions,” the two lawmakers wrote.
“This letter serves as a formal request to preserve all existing and future records and materials related to the Office of Special Counsel’s investigations and prosecutions of President Trump. You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently.”
Jordan was previously subpoenaed by the now-disbanded January 6th committee, which sought information about any communications he had with the Trump White House regarding Trump’s alleged plans to remain in office. The committee also questioned Loudermilk about a Capitol tour he led for two men who later participated in the January 6th march to the building.
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