Special counsel Jack Smith requested a delay Thursday in proceedings against former President Donald Trump in his election fraud case.
The special counsel told the judge that the government was still reviewing the Supreme Court’s ruling last month on the issue of presidential immunity.
“The Government therefore respectfully requests additional time to provide the Court with an informed proposal regarding the schedule for pretrial proceedings moving forward. The defense does not object to the Government’s request for an extension,” Mr. Smith wrote in his two-page court filing.
Mr. Smith requested that the judge delay a status filing deadline until Aug. 30 and then hold a status conference with the parties after that date.
Originally, the two sides were set to issue filings on the status of the proceedings on Friday and hold a hearing next week before the judge.
Both parties have agreed to the delay, requesting that trial Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee, sign off on their proposed timeline.
Judge Chutkan had paused the election fraud litigation against Mr. Trump as he appealed to higher courts on whether presidents are immune from criminal prosecution.
It’s been on hold for roughly seven months.
Mr. Trump had argued presidents have absolute immunity and can’t face charges.
That issue went before the Supreme Court and on July 1, the justices split ideologically 6-3 in what court watchers have said is one of the most significant cases to be heard in decades.
The justices ruled that presidents enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken under their core presidential functions, presumed immunity for all official acts, and no immunity for nonofficial acts.
The challenge was brought by Mr. Trump, and the Supreme Court’s ruling was seen as a win for him in that it almost certainly delayed proceedings until after the Nov. 5 election.
The ruling has left Trump critics frustrated, as the decision delays not only his election fraud case, but also other legal battles up and down the East Coast against the former president as lower courts are left to grapple with which charges are subject to immunity.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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