D.C. Circuit Court Judge Tanya Chutkan granted Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request to delay his election interference prosecution against former President Donald Trump on Thursday, allowing him time to fortify his case, according to NBC.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling on Aug. 2, meaning the courthouse, where the case originated, could take its own stab at it.
Chutkan, an Obama-appointed judge, originally presided over Smith’s case against Trump which has been in a holding pattern ever since the case was referred to the Supreme Court in December 2023.
ADVERTISEMENT
Now that the Supreme Court has issued its ruling, the case can slog forward.
“Although those consultations are well underway, the Government has not finalized its position on the most appropriate schedule for the parties to brief issues related to the decision,” Smith’s prosecutors wrote in a statement to NBC about their talks with Chutkan.
“The Government therefore respectfully requests additional time to provide the Court with an informed proposal regarding the schedule for pretrial proceedings moving forward,” they added.
Trump’s attorneys did not issue any objections to the request for a delay, and will meet on Aug. 16 with Chutkan for a status conference to plot the dates of pretrial proceedings. The defense and prosecution have until Aug. 30 to propose next steps in the case, according to NBC.
Trump previously pled not guilty in the case and has said the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling shields him from prosecution.
“It is clear that the Supreme Court’s Historic Decision on Immunity demands and requires a Complete and Total Dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts—The January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C., the Manhattan D.A.’s Zombie Case, the New York A.G. Scam, Fake Claims about a woman I never met (a 40 year old photo in a line with her then husband does not count!), and the Georgia ‘Perfect’ Phone Call charges,” Trump wrote in a Truth social post Thursday. “The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference Conspiracy against Crazy Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME.”
While Chutkan has yet to issue a new ruling on the presidential immunity case, her signal to Smith to take three weeks to come up with a prosecution suggests that Chutkan may strike down the Supreme Court’s ruling in the coming weeks.
