JUST IN: Jack Smith Asks Judge to Vacate All Deadlines in Trump’s Jan. 6 Case Over ‘Unprecedented Circumstance’ of His Election
Special counsel Jack Smith has asked federal District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to remove all deadlines for President-elect Donald Trump’s D.C. criminal case.
Smith notes that his office will reevaluate how to move forward with the case as Trump prepares to return to the presidency, noting that it is an “unprecedented circumstance.”
This is likely the first step indicating that Smith is preparing to wind down the criminal cases against Trump. The president-elect faces criminal charges in D.C. for his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“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,” wrote prosecutors in a one-page filing on Friday afternoon.
Smith’s office said that by December 2 they will file another “report or otherwise inform the Court of the result of its deliberations.” Soon after the motion to vacate the schedule was filed by Smith, Judge Chutkan approved the request.
Earlier this week, legal analysts suggested Smith would prepare winding down his prosecution of Trump due to long standing FBI policy that prohibits prosecuting a sitting president for a criminal offense.
Reports indicate that this was the precursor action before the charges are officially dropped, and that Smith will likely leave the DOJ before Trump is inaugurated in January.
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