A DC federal judge put special counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election case against President-elect Donald Trump on ice Friday at prosecutors’ request following the Republican’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
The order by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan called on Smith to figure out his next move by Dec. 2, as reports indicated the Justice Department would drop all pending litigation against the 45th president.
“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,” Smith’s one-page filing read.
“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,” the filing added, referring to the longstanding principle that the DOJ cannot pursue cases against a sitting president.
In addition to alleging that Trump unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, Smith had charged Trump with unlawfully keeping national security information at his Mar-a-Lago resort and lying to investigators when he was caught doing so.
The Florida case was dismissed over the summer by US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who held that Smith had been unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. That ruling was on appeal at the time of Trump’s victory.
Trump, 78, has previously said he would fire Smith in “two seconds” on his first day back in the White House, and has said the special counsel has unleashed a legal “witch hunt” against him.
