Additional Delays in Trump’s 2020 Election Interference Case • Ohio Capital Journal

WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Jack Smith was given more time Friday before he must outline the next steps his office will take in the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.

The delay pushes the proceedings even further into the presidential race, as Trump vies for the Oval Office against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

The D.C. case is one of several legal hurdles facing the former president, who was convicted of a crime in May.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered both sides to file a joint status report proposing a “schedule for further pretrial proceedings” by Aug. 9 and set a pretrial conference for Aug. 16 to determine how the case should proceed.

However, prosecutors on Thursday asked for until Aug. 30 to file another joint status report and for the status hearing to be adjourned until next month.

Chutkan granted that request on Friday and rescheduled the pretrial hearing to Sept. 5.

Prosecutors requested the stay so they could more closely examine a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month that ruled that presidents have complete immunity from criminal prosecution for all official “core constitutional acts,” though they have no immunity for any unofficial acts.

In the report, prosecutors wrote that “the government continues to evaluate the new precedent set last month by the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States, including through consultations with other components of the Department of Justice.”

“While these consultations are well underway, the government has not yet determined a final position on the most appropriate timetable for the parties to present their issues in relation to the decision,” Smith’s office wrote.

“Therefore, the Government kindly requests additional time to submit to the Court a reasoned proposal regarding the schedule for further preparatory proceedings,” they added.

Trump’s lawyers did not object to prosecutors’ request on Thursday to continue the hearing.

Rejection of the immunity request

The election challenge has been on hold for months as the former president’s claim for immunity has been working its way through the courts. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously rejected Trump’s claim for immunity in February, prompting the former president to take his presidential immunity fight to the nation’s highest court.

But a July 1 Supreme Court ruling forced prosecutors to reconsider how to proceed with the election incitement case.

Chutkan is now tasked with determining whether Trump’s alleged conduct related to the 2020 election results constitutes “official” presidential actions.

In August 2023, Trump was indicted on four charges related to his alleged role in attempting to change the results of the 2020 presidential election.

He was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings, obstructing and attempting to obstruct official proceedings, and conspiracy to violate laws.

The former president did not admit to any of the charges brought against him and denied any irregularities.

Meanwhile, the former president was found guilty by a New York court in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records. His sentencing was originally scheduled for mid-July but was delayed until at least September after the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.