Special counsel Jack Smith has requested that the judge in Donald Trump's election interference criminal trial pause proceedings, allowing him a month to formally propose next steps — likely marking an initial move toward concluding the prosecution.
The move was a made "as a result of the election held on November 5, 2024", where "the defendant is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025", according to court documents.
BREAKING: Jack Smith moves to vacate remaining deadlines in Trump's DC criminal case. pic.twitter.com/TYHQrKqbNx
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 8, 2024
Earlier on Friday, Smith informed Judge Tanya Chutkan that canceling the remaining deadlines for pretrial motions would allow his team "time to assess this unprecedented circumstance" following Trump's electoral victory "and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy," according to CNBC.
Trump's recent win over Vice President Kamala Harris was widely seen as the final blow to Smith's prosecutions against him.
"By December 2, 2024, the Government will file a status report or otherwise inform the Court of the result of its deliberations," Smith wrote in a filing Friday.
The legal battle over Trump's 2020 election-related charges was initially filed in 2023.
Both sides had debated whether his actions are protected by presidential immunity. Trump had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors have described Trump's post-election actions as a coordinated effort involving several co-conspirators to overturn the legitimate results in key states that he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.
This is a developing story.
