OAN Staff Avril Elfie
9:25am – Saturday, November 9, 2024
A federal judge has granted Special Counsel Jack Smith's request to suspend the deadline in President-elect Donald Trump's election interference case.
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On Friday, Smith's team released a summary of developments in the case.
Smith's team said, “As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant will be recognized as the next president on January 6, 2025, and will take office on January 20, 2025. I respectfully request that you leave the court.” The remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule are intended to allow the government time to assess this unprecedented situation and determine the appropriate course of action, consistent with Department of Justice policy. ”
The decision follows Mr. Smith's recent discussions with Justice Department officials about steps to conclude Mr. Trump's federal criminal case, including charges in Florida related to the retention of classified documents.
The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) recommends against charging a sitting president with a crime.
“The department concludes that indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting president would impermissibly impair the executive branch's ability to carry out its constitutionally assigned duties,” the OLC, which helps the department develop policy, wrote in a 1973 memo. ”.
Smith indicted Trump on four felonies in the case, accusing him of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Mr. Trump has maintained his innocence.
Trump's lawyers have until November 21 to submit written argumentscentoutlined a rationale for why the charges should be dismissed in light of the Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity.
Deadlines for further filings on disclaimers and other issues are expected in the weeks before and after the presidential transition.
The president-elect did not object to future deadline extensions, according to the filing. However, Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the trial, approved the request within minutes.
Smith said he would provide another update to the court by Dec. 2 to “inform the court of the outcome of our deliberations.”
In Trump's Florida documents lawsuit, Judge Eileen Cannon ruled that Smith's appointment was illegal and dismissed the charges. Mr. Smith subsequently appealed this decision.
Trump's lawyers argue that his status as president-elect warrants an immediate stay of all four criminal charges against him.
The special counsel still pauses another Trump case involving charges of mishandling classified documents and obstructing government efforts to recover them from his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida. There has been no movement yet.
Lawyers for the president-elect are also expected to seek to cancel his scheduled sentencing in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records and to halt the election interference case in Georgia.
Mr. Smith's filing comes just before a letter from House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Executive Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), special He asked prosecutors to preserve all records relating to Mr. Smith. investigation.
“The Office of the Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or accountability for its actions,” the senators wrote.
“This letter serves as a formal request for the preservation of all current and future records and materials related to the investigation and prosecution of President Trump by the Office of the Special Counsel. Please be construed as a direction to take all reasonable steps to prevent destruction or alteration, whether negligent or otherwise.”
Jordan had previously been subpoenaed by the now-dissolved Parliament on January 6th.th The committee sought information about any communications between Trump and Trump regarding his plans to continue in office. The committee also questioned Mr. Loudermilk about a tour of the Capitol that he later gave to two men who attended the Jan. 6 rally.th March towards the building.
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