Judge grants special counsel’s request to delay next steps in Trump election interference case

WASHINGTON — U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday approved special counsel Jack Smith’s request for more time to propose next steps in the government’s election interference case against former President Donald Trump.

The decision came a day after Smith and other prosecutors asked a judge to postpone the deadline for submitting a new trial schedule until Aug. 30.

Chutkan gave prosecutors and Trump’s legal team until Friday to submit a joint status report, including a pretrial timeline, ahead of an Aug. 16 status conference.

The special counsel’s office said in its Thursday filing that prosecutors were still evaluating the “new precedent set” by the Supreme Court’s decision on Trump’s immunity.

“While these consultations are ongoing, the government has not finalized its position on the most appropriate timetable for the parties to summarize the issues related to the decision,” the special counsel’s office said. “The government therefore respectfully requests additional time to provide the court with an informed proposal regarding the pretrial timetable. The defense does not oppose the government’s request for an extension.”

Smith asked Chutkan to give them and Trump’s lawyers until Aug. 30 to file a joint status report and schedule a status conference after that. Friday’s order granted an extension and rescheduled the status conference for Sept. 5.

The appeal process was intended to ensure that the trial would not take place before Election Day, November 5.

In each of the four criminal cases against Trump, the former president and his legal team have sought to delay the proceedings as much as possible to get them done before the election or to get the charges dismissed.

Last weekend, Chutkan denied Trump’s older motion to dismiss the election interference indictment, filed before the Supreme Court took up the case.