Federal District Judge Tanya Chutkan has been asked by special counsel Jack Smith to clear all deadlines for the cases filed against President-elect Donald Trump. In his request, the federal prosecutor stated that he wanted enough time to review the accusations and decide how to proceed. Additionally, he informed the judge that he could make a decision by December 2.
The defendant is anticipated to be sworn in as president-elect on January 6, 2025, and to take office on January 20, 2025, following the election that took place on November 5, 2024. In a one-page filing, the prosecutors continued, “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 Government will file a status report or otherwise notify the Court of the outcome of its deliberations by December 2, 2024,” the letter went on.
President-elect Trump has repeatedly said he intends to remove Smith from his role as special counsel and close the federal cases against him, including allegations that he mishandled classified documents and tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
The FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on August 8, 2022. Using a fine tooth comb, federal officers searched the property for items listed in a warrant. Before taking that material out of the White House and safely storing it in his residence, the president-elect claimed to have declassified it.
“The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization,” said then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy in a statement on the raid.