US Justice Department willing to drop Trump 2020 election case - Reuters
Photo: US President-elect Donald Trump (Getty Images)
The US judge postponed deadlines in the case involving alleged efforts by former President Donald Trump to undermine the 2020 election. Prosecutors are grappling with the "unprecedented circumstance" of his potential return to the White House, according to Reuters.
On Friday, November 8, US district judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Tanya Chutkan, in Washington granted a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the criminal case, to delay deadlines until the matter is further weighed, according to the court's order.
Prosecutors said the delay was necessary "to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy."
A source familiar with the matter noted that the Justice Department is discussing how to wind down the case as Trump prepares to reenter the White House. According to Justice Department policy established in the 1970s, a sitting president cannot be criminally prosecuted.
Trump’s attorneys have until November 21 to respond to Smith's argument that the case may proceed following a Supreme Court decision that provides former presidents with broad immunity from prosecution for official actions taken during their time in office.
Smith stated that prosecutors will inform the judge by December 2 on how they intend to proceed.
Case of obstruction of the 2020 election
According to the investigation, in 2020, Donald Trump lost the presidential election to his opponent, Joe Biden. However, he began making false allegations of election fraud to remain in power. Prosecutors and his advisers allegedly attempted to create chaos in the vote count.
This eventually led to the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, following his incendiary speech.
Last year, Trump pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges accusing the Republican of conspiring to obstruct the certification and counting of votes after his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
In December 2023, a federal court granted Trump’s request to pause proceedings initially scheduled for March 2024. The politician needed to do this to file a lawsuit to grant him full immunity from criminal charges.
However, in August this year, the US District Court for the Western District of Washington resumed the case.
In the election on Tuesday, November 5, Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. This victory almost certainly ended two federal cases against him.
On Friday, November 8, the court also suspended proceedings in another criminal case against the Republican leader.
