Special Counsel Jack Smith, prosecutor of the federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump, on Friday asked a federal judge in D.C. to suspend deadlines in the election interference case that centered on Trump supporters’ attack on United States on January 6, 2021. Capitol.

To give the administration time to reflect on the “unprecedented circumstance” of an impeached former president returning to the White House after Tuesday’s election, Smith’s team, writing in an unopposed motion to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, asked for clarification of upcoming deadlines in the case.

Under U.S. Justice Department precedent dating back to the Watergate era, the department cannot prosecute a sitting president.

“As a result of the elections held on November 5, 2024, the defendant is expected to be certified as president-elect on January 6, 2025 and take office on January 20, 2025,” prosecutors wrote.

“The Government respectfully requests that the Court rescind the remaining deadlines in this pretrial schedule to allow the Government time to evaluate this unprecedented circumstance and determine the best appropriate course to follow consistent with Department of Justice policy.”

A 1973 Justice Department memo concluded that criminally prosecuting a sitting president would diminish the president’s ability to perform the duties of the office. That conclusion was stated in a 2000 memo addressing the issue.

The four-sentence brief filed Friday said prosecutors would inform the court by Dec. 2 which route they planned to take.

Chutkan accepted the motion shortly after Smith presented it.

The reversal of Trump’s fortunes

The legal development marks another milestone in Trump’s remarkable comeback.

The former president ended his first term shortly after the January 6 attack and in the midst of a global pandemic, with less than 39% of voters in power. a favorable opinion of him and almost 58% disapprove of him.

Over the next few years, the U.S. Department of Justice and state prosecutors in New York and Georgia launched investigations into allegations that resulted in four felony indictments.

But thanks in part to his election victory in which he won or led all the battleground states as of Friday afternoon and was able to win the popular vote for the first time in his three runs for the White House, it seems likely that Trump will escape the election. guilt in either case. .

Smith, whom Trump criticized and vowed to fire (and possibly deport), appears ready to drop the election interference case.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee in South Florida, has already dismissed charges related to Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents that prosecutors say he illegally took from the White House and brought to his home. owned by Mar-a-Lago after its 2020 election loss. Prosecutors have appealed that decision.

He Georgia election interference case that charged Trump as part of a conspiracy to overturn the state’s 2020 election results has failed amid revelations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is prosecuting the case, had an inappropriate relationship. with a subordinate from his office.

A New York jury made find Trump guilty earlier this year of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the payment of money promised to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

But sentencing in that case was postponed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting presidents the presumption of criminal immunity for any act done in their official capacity.

The Nov. 26 sentencing could be delayed further as Trump prepares to return to the White House.

Last updated at 4:24 pm, November 8, 2024