Judge cancels court deadlines in 2020 election case after Trump wins presidency

WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge overseeing Donald Trump’s trial 2020 election interference case canceled While deadlines for the remaining trials are set on Friday, prosecutors are evaluating the “appropriate route forward” in light of this data. Republican presidential victory.

Special Counsel Jack Smith made the following accusation against Trump last year: Conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election And He illegally hoards confidential documents at his Mar-a-Lago property. However, Smith’s team is evaluating how to end this process. two federal lawsuits A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that this would happen before the president-elect is inaugurated because of the Justice Department’s long-standing policy that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.

Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris means the Justice Department believes he can no longer face prosecution under the department’s legal opinions aimed at protecting presidents from criminal charges while in office.

Trump criticized both cases as politically motivated and said the case would be filed. Firing Smith “within two seconds” of taking office.

At a court hearing Friday in the 2020 election case, Smith’s team asked that the upcoming court dates be canceled, saying it needed “time to evaluate this unprecedented situation and determine the appropriate course forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan quickly granted the request and ordered prosecutors to file court documents by Dec. 2 that include the “recommended process for this case.”

Trump was scheduled to be tried in Washington in March; where more than 1,000 of his supporters were convicted for their role In the Capitol riot. But his case was halted as Trump pursued sweeping immunity claims that eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

In July, the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution and sent the case back to Chutkan to determine which of the indictment’s allegations can move forward.

The classified documents case has been stalled since July by Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon. Rejected on the grounds that Smith was appointed illegally. Smith appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where a request to revive the case is pending. Even if Smith tries to drop the lawsuit against Trump, it seems likely that he will continue to challenge Cannon’s decision on the legality of his appointment, given the precedent such a decision would create.

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