Trump and Jack Smith seek three-week delay of 2020 election case

Former President Donald Trump‘s attorneys and special counsel Jack Smith requested a three-week delay to proceedings in the federal 2020 election subversion case, citing a need to further evaluate the Supreme Court’s recent presidential immunity ruling.

“The Government continues to assess the new precedent set forth last month in the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States … including through consultation with other Department of Justice components,” according to the joint status report filed to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Although Smith notes those “consultations are well underway,” the government has not finalized its position on the “most appropriate schedule for the parties to brief issues related to the decision,” the special counsel’s office wrote, referring to the Supreme Court ruling that found former presidents are immune from prosecution for “official” acts taken while in office.

Trump’s counsel did not object to the government’s request for an extension.

Trump responded to the request Thursday evening in a statement, saying “It is clear that the Supreme Court’s historic decision on immunity demands and requires a complete and total dismissal of all the witch hunts.”

Smith’s office said they are available to proceed “any day after August 30” but noted Trump’s defense is not available on Sept. 6 and the week of Sept. 16, which is the week when New York Judge Juan Merchan is set to decide on whether the immunity ruling should result in overturning Trump’s criminal conviction in the separate criminal hush money case.

Both parties were initially expected to submit filings beginning on Friday after Chutkan ordered both parties to propose how to move forward following the Supreme Court’s decision on July 1. Chutkan has currently slated a hearing for next Friday to begin work on the case after an eight-month delay, which was spurred due to Trump’s immunity appeal effort.

The move by Smith to request a delay marks a stark change in the way he handled the case after it became the third of four criminal indictments against the former president last year. The special counsel often cited the need for a trial to occur before the election and emphasized the public’s need for a resolution. Chutkan had only regained jurisdiction last Friday after a monthlong wait for the case to return to her chambers.

Due to the compounding delays in the case, legal experts suggested the case wouldn’t get to trial before the November presidential election but that there could be a sort of “mini-trial,” or evidentiary hearings with live witness testimony ahead of the election. If Chutkan grants this request, it will likely further diminish the extent of pretrial adjudication ahead of the election.

The request also signals how Smith and the Justice Department are still grappling with the best route forward following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision, which has become a point of marked criticism by President Joe Biden, who recently backed an effort by Congress to pass an amendment that would effectively undo the justices’ decision.

Smith has also faced setbacks in his separate federal indictment against Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the Oval Office, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida recently dismissing the case on the grounds that Smith was improperly appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. That decision is currently being appealed by Smith to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, which encompasses his challenging of the election results after his defeat in November 2020. He pleaded not guilty to the charges last August.