Judge pauses Trump case after election win

Prosecutor Jack Smith’s election interference probe against the incoming president is likely dead in the water

A federal judge in Washington DC has canceled any remaining deadlines in the government’s election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump, paving the way for the case to be dropped in light of Trump’s election victory.

In a court filing on Friday, Special Counsel Jack Smith requested that “the Court vacate the remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance” of Trump’s win, and to “determine the appropriate course going forward.”

District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted the request, and ordered Smith’s team to present their “proposed course for this case” by December 2.

Smith charged Trump last year with plotting to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win, arguing that the outgoing president pressured election officials to invalidate the results of the election, and encouraged his supporters to riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a bid to block the certification of Biden’s victory.

However, Justice Department policy shields sitting presidents from prosecution, and Smith is expected to wind down his case – and a separate federal case against Trump – and be dismissed before the president-elect is inaugurated in January.

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