Special Counsel Jack Smith has paused the prosecution of President Trump to give the Department of Justice more time to do the right thing.
In a one paragraph filing with the court, Smith asked for all upcoming deadlines in the case to be vacated and cited the events of November 5 as the reason.
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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,
This request was granted by the judge overseeing the case, Tanya Chutkan.
MINUTE ORDER as to DONALD J. TRUMP: The Government’s 278 Unopposed Motion to Vacate Briefing Schedule is hereby GRANTED. All remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule are VACATED. By December 2, 2024, the Government shall file a status report indicating its proposed course for this case going forward. Signed by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan on 11/8/2024.
As my colleague Susie Moore wrote, this prosecution is no longer merely outrageous, it is untenable given Department of Justice policy that forbids the prosecution of a sitting president. READ: BREAKING: DOJ Set to Drop Cases Against Trump Before Inauguration. This action is official notice that the case is paused before Department of Justice moves to have the case dismissed.
