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Federal judge suspends deadlines in Trump criminal case

Special counsel Jack Smith addresses reporters at the Justice Department on Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C. MUST CREDIT: Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
By Perry Stein and Spencer S. Hsu Washington Post
Special counsel Jack Smith addresses reporters at the Justice Department on Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C. MUST CREDIT: Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s election-interference case in D.C. federal court suspended all remaining deadlines Friday – the latest sign that the federal prosecutions of the president-elect are winding down.

In a filing Friday to U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, special counsel Jack Smith and his team said that they needed to assess how they want to proceed with the case now that Trump is expected to be sworn in as president on Jan. 20. Justice Department policy would not allow for the prosecution of a sitting president.

Chutkan quickly granted that request and ordered prosecutors to file a report by Dec. 2 explaining how they want to proceed with the case.

In D.C., Smith charged Trump with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The case is still far from a potential trial, and Chutkan is determining what allegations in the superseding indictment could still be prosecuted after the Supreme Court ruled this summer that presidents enjoy broad immunity.

“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 Friday filing states. “By December 2, 2024, the Government will file a status report or otherwise inform the Court of the result of its deliberations.”

Smith also indicted Trump in Florida for allegedly mishandling classified documents and thwarting officials’ attempts to retrieve them. That case was dismissed by a district judge, who determined Smith was unlawfully appointed. Smith is appealing that ruling.

Trump’s election win prompted Smith to start discussing how to wind down the two federal prosecutions of the president-elect, the Washington Post reported earlier this week.

If he terminated the criminal cases soon enough, Smith could deliver a final report detailing the findings of his two probes to Attorney General Merrick Garland before Trump becomes the next president.

Garland has previously said that he would make special counsel reports public if they reached his desk, though he has not indicated specifically what he would do if Smith gave him such a report now.