Special counsel Jack Smith has requested that federal District Judge Tanya Chutkan clear all deadlines for the cases that have been brought against President-elect Donald Trump. The federal prosecutor cited his desire to have adequate time to reassess the charges and determine how to resolve them in his request. He also told the judge he could decide on the matter by December 2.
According to a new report from CNN, this marks the first step for Smith that indicates he is now preparing to wind down the case against Trump and bring it to an end. The report went on to state that Smith is also in talks with senior officials at the Department of Justice on how to handle the situation at hand.
“As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025. The Government respectfully requests that the Court vacate the remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy,” the prosecutors went on to write in a one-page filing.
“By December 2, 2024, the Government will file a status report or otherwise inform the Court of the result of its deliberations,” the letter continued.
President-elect Trump has stated on multiple occasions that he plans to boot Smith from his position as special counsel and end the federal cases that have been brought against him, which include charges that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and mishandled classified documents.
Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, was raided by the FBI on Aug. 8, 2022. Federal agents went over the property with a fine tooth comb looking for material specified in a warrant. The president-elect stated that he had declassified that material before removing it from the White House and securely storing it in his home.
At the time of the raid, then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy issued a comment on the raid, saying, “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization.”
