Special Counsel Jack Smith on Thursday night requested a delay in former President Donald Trump's election interference case.
The prosecutor Filing The government is still assessing the impact of the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling and has asked for the timeline to be pushed back by several weeks. Judge Tanya Chutkan had originally scheduled the case for August 16, but Smith instead asked for permission to submit a proposed timeline for pretrial proceedings by the end of the month, effectively postponing the action until September.
“While discussions are progressing well, the government has not finalized the optimal schedule for the parties to present their sentencing-related issues,” prosecutors wrote in the filing. “Accordingly, the government respectfully requests additional time to submit to the court an informed proposal for a schedule for future pretrial proceedings.”
Trump's legal team did not oppose Smith's request, according to the lawsuit. (Related article: After presidential immunity ruling, Judge Chutkan faces long road to getting Trump case back on track)
The request marks a shift from Smith's original approach to the case, in which his team has sought to speed up the proceedings as much as possible. In December, Smith asked the Supreme Court to consider the issue of presidential immunity before issuing an appeals court decision, but the justices declined to hear the case early.
Judge Chutkan initially denied Trump's motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds of executive immunity on December 1. His appeal delayed the case for months and canceled a previously scheduled March trial date.
WACO, TX – MARCH 25: Former US President Donald Trump watches a rally at Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 last month that a president cannot be prosecuted for official acts committed while in office.
“Under our constitutional separation of powers structure, the nature of presidential powers entitles former presidents to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for acts that fall within the scope of their definitive and exclusive constitutional authority,” the court ruled. “And former presidents are entitled to at least presumptive immunity for all official acts, but not for unofficial acts.”
The Supreme Court left it to lower courts to decide which charges in President Trump's indictment constitute “official functions” that qualify for immunity.
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