Special counsel Jack Smith seeks pause in Trump criminal case to assess ‘unprecedented circumstance’

Special counsel Jack Smith seeks pause in Trump criminal case to assess ‘unprecedented circumstance’


Special counsel Jack Smith makes a statement to reporters about the 37 federal charges returned by a grand jury in an indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on charges of unauthorized retention of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice as Smith speaks at his offices in Washington, U.S. June 9, 2023.

Leah Millis | Reuters

Special counsel Jack Smith on Friday asked a judge to pause proceedings in the criminal election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump, a move that reflects the expected end of the the prosecution.

Smith said that vacating the schedule of remaining pretrial motion deadlines would give the prosecutor’s team “time to assess this unprecedented circumstance” of Trump’s electoral victory “and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”

“By December 2, 2024, the Government will file a status report or otherwise inform the Court of the result of its deliberations,” Smith wrote in a filing in federal court in Washington, D.C., which noted that Trump’s lawyers did not object to the requested pause.

Trump is charged in the case with crimes related to his efforts to undo his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Trump’s win against Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week was considered a death knell for Smith’s prosecutions against him.

Trump has said he plans to fire Smith, and is expected to force the DOJ to end the prosecutions.

And DOJ policy effectively bars the department from prosecuting a president while in office.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.



Source

Trump taps CFPB director nominee Jonathan McKernan for Treasury post
Politics

Trump taps CFPB director nominee Jonathan McKernan for Treasury post

Jonathan McKernan testifies during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 27, 2025. Annabelle Gordon | Reuters President Donald Trump plans to nominate Jonathan McKernan to be undersecretary of domestic finance at the Treasury Department, months after the president tapped McKernan to lead the […]

Read More
Trump administration ‘looking at’ suspending habeas corpus, Stephen Miller says
Politics

Trump administration ‘looking at’ suspending habeas corpus, Stephen Miller says

White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller speaks to the media outside the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 9, 2025. Kent Nishimura | Reuters White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller said Friday that the Trump administration is “actively looking at” suspending the writ of habeas corpus, […]

Read More
Newark mayor arrested for alleged trespass at New Jersey ICE detention facility
Politics

Newark mayor arrested for alleged trespass at New Jersey ICE detention facility

Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark speaks to the press near ICE agents at a demonstration outside an immigrant detention centre in Elizabeth, New Jersey May 7, 2025. Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday for allegedly trespassing inside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in […]

Read More