Posted on 11/08/24
| News Source: The Hill
A federal judge granted a request from special counsel Jack Smith on Friday to suspend deadlines in President-elect Trump’s election interference case.
The move comes after Smith begun discussions with Justice Department officials earlier this week about how to wind down Trump’s federal criminal cases, which likewise includes charges in Florida related to his retention of classified documents.
“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,” Smith’s team wrote in a brief Friday.
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) advises against the criminal prosecution of a sitting president.
“The Department concluded that the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions,” the OLC, which helps craft the department’s policies, determined in a 1973 memo.
Smith charged Trump in the case with four felonies that accused him of conspiring to subvert the 2020 election results. He pleaded not guilty.
Trump’s attorneys are due to submit their written arguments by Nov. 21 on why they believe the indictment cannot survive in the wake of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. Deadlines for additional filings on immunity and other issues are slated for the weeks during the presidential transition.