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The U.S Supreme Court’s momentous decision on presidential immunity is continuing to change the landscape of Donald Trump’s pending legal cases. On Thursday, special counsel Jack Smith requested a three-week delay in the federal government’s 2020 election-subversion case, pushing any potential movement on the matter to September. It was already all but certain that a trial wouldn’t take place prior to the November election.
Smith cited a need to further assess the Supreme Court’s decision and to consult with Justice Department entities to determine next steps. “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,” the filing read. “The Government therefore respectfully requests additional time to provide the Court for an informed proposal regarding the schedule for pretrial proceedings moving forward.”
The filing from Smith was in response to Judge Tanya Chutkan’s request last week that both sides file a joint status report by Friday to decide upon a schedule for pretrial proceedings. Smith’s office asked to move the scheduled August 16 status conference to September and noted that Trump’s legal team did not object to his request for additional time (hardly a surprise, given their strategy of running out the clock). Chutkan will have to approve the delay.
Chutkan has long appeared eager to begin the 2020 election trial prior to the fall elections, initially setting a start date of March 4, 2024. But the matter was paused indefinitely after the Supreme Court decided to hear Trump’s immunity claim. After the case was finally returned to Chutkan last week, she immediately denied a motion from Trump’s attorneys to dismiss the indictment and requested a pretrial schedule from both sides. Some legal experts have suggested the possibility of an evidentiary hearing, or “mini-trial,” which would air publicly some of the allegations levied against Trump prior to an actual trial. But it’s unclear whether that might still happen given the new delays.
