Donald Trump‘s federal election interference case will not move forward for now, after Judge Tanya Chutkan granted special counsel Jack Smith’s motion to vacate the outstanding deadlines in the case over the “unprecedented circumstance” of Trump’s election victory.
In a filing on Friday, Smith pointed out that Trump, the defendant, is set to be certified as president-elect on Jan. 6, 2025, and inaugurated on Jan. 20. In light of the impending change in Trump’s status, Smith asked that Chutkan pause all remaining pretrial deadlines to allow his office “time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.” Smith said his office would inform the court of its conclusion by Dec. 2.
The Justice Department has a longstanding policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Trump’s defense team did not object to the request, and Chutkan granted the motion shortly after.
Smith’s request comes just two days after Trump was projected as the winner of the 2024 election, and amid reports that the Justice Department is looking into winding down the two federal criminal cases against the president-elect. As my MSNBC colleague Jordan Rubin noted, the federal cases against Trump are unlikely to move forward given that he is on the verge of returning to the White House, nor are proceedings in his state cases in New York and Georgia likely to continue while he is in office. Trump has denied wrongdoing in all his criminal cases.
Smith has been a major Trump target over his leading prosecutorial role in the president-elect’s two federal cases. Trump, who has repeatedly vowed to punish his rivals if he returns to the White House, said just days before the election that he would fire Smith “within two seconds” if he becomes president again. And some members of Trump’s inner circle, including tech billionaire Elon Musk and lawyer Mike Davis, have called for Smith to be prosecuted.