WASHINGTON – Special Counsel Jack Smith was given more time Friday before giving an overview of his office’s next steps in the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.
The delay brings the proceedings even closer to the election campaign as Trump battles Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for the Oval Office.
The case in DC is one of several legal hurdles facing the former president, who was convicted of a serious crime in May.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered both parties to submit a joint status report by August 9 proposing “a timeline for further pretrial proceedings.” A pretrial meeting was also scheduled for August 16 to determine the future course of the case.
But on Thursday, prosecutors requested until Aug. 30 to file another joint status report and postpone the status conference hearing until next month.
Chutkan granted the request on Friday and postponed the pretrial hearing until September 5.
Prosecutors had asked for the delay so they could more closely examine the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last month that said presidents enjoy complete immunity from criminal charges for all official “core constitutional acts” but not for unofficial acts.
In the report, prosecutors wrote: “The government continues to review the new precedent set by the Supreme Court’s decision last month in Trump v. United States, including in consultation with other departments of Justice.”
“Although these consultations are well underway, the government has not yet finalized its position on the most appropriate timeline for informing parties of issues related to the decision,” Smith’s office wrote.
“The government therefore respectfully requests more time to present to the court a well-founded proposal for the timetable for the further pre-trial proceedings,” they added.
Trump’s lawyers did not object to the prosecutors’ request on Thursday.
Rejection of the request for immunity
The election rigging case was on hold for months while the former president’s immunity request was being heard in court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit unanimously rejected Trump’s immunity request back in February, after which the former president took the presidential immunity fight to the highest court in the land.
But the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 1 forced prosecutors to reconsider their further approach in the election fraud case.
Chutkan must now determine whether Trump’s alleged conduct regarding the results of the 2020 election constitutes “official” actions of the president.
In August 2023, Trump was indicted on four counts related to his alleged role in attempting to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
He was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction or attempted obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to violate rights.
The former president pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the former president was found guilty by a New York court in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records. His sentencing was originally scheduled for mid-July but was postponed until at least September due to the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
