Jack Smith asks judge to suspend deadlines in Trump Jan. 6 case

Special counsel Jack Smith asked a judge Friday to suspend deadlines in President-elect Trump’s election interference case.

“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,” Smith’s team wrote in a brief.

The filing comes after Smith had begun discussions with Justice Department officials earlier this week about how to wind down Trump’s federal criminal cases, which likewise includes charges in Florida related to his retention of classified documents.

The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) advises against the criminal prosecution of a sitting president.

“The Department concluded that the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions,” the OLC, which helps craft the department’s policies, determined in a 1973 memo.

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