U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday granted special counsel Jack Smith’s request for additional time to propose the next steps in the government’s election interference case against President Trump.
The decision follows Smith’s request to extend the deadline for submitting a new timetable in the case until August 30. Chutkan had initially set a deadline for Friday to receive a joint status report from prosecutors and Trump’s legal team, outlining a timeline for pretrial proceedings ahead of an August 16 status conference.
In a filing on Thursday, the special counsel’s office noted that prosecutors are still evaluating the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent Trump immunity decision. They requested more time to finalize their position on the schedule for pretrial proceedings. The defense has agreed to this extension.
Smith’s request for an extension to August 30 and rescheduling of the status conference to September 5 was approved. This extension ensures that the trial will not occur before Election Day on November 5.
In each of the four criminal cases against Trump, he and his legal team have sought delays to potentially push proceedings past the election or to have the charges dismissed. Last weekend, Chutkan denied Trump’s earlier motion to dismiss the election interference indictment.
