Judge cancels court deadlines in Trump's 2020 election case
FILE-Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on October 09, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case canceled any remaining court deadlines on Friday.
In a court filing Friday in the 2020 election case, Special Counsel Jack Smith's team asked to cancel any upcoming court deadlines, saying it needs "time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy," the Associated Press reported.
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But Smith's team has been assessing how to conclude two federal cases before the president-elect takes office because of a Justice Department policy that states sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
In 2023, Smith charged Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and illegally holding on to classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The AP reported that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted the request and ordered prosecutors to file court papers with their "proposed course for this case" by Dec. 2.
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Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s election means that the Justice Department believes he can no longer face prosecution with department legal opinions meant to shield presidents from criminal charges while in office, the Associated Press reported.
The president-elect was scheduled to stand trial in March in Washington, D.C. where more than 1,000 of his supporters were convicted of charges for their roles in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
But the case was stopped as Trump pursued his claims of immunity from prosecution that went before the Supreme Court.
In July 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution and sent the case back to Chutkan to determine which of the allegations in the indictment can proceed.
Trump’s classified documents case has been stalled since July when a Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon, dismissed it on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed.
The AP reported that Smith has appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the request to revive the case is ongoing.
With Smith attempting to withdraw the classified documents case against Trump, Smith would continue to challenge Cannon’s ruling on the legality of his appointment given the precedent such a ruling would create, according to the AP.