Judge Tanya Chutkan canceled all deadlines and ongoing proceedings in the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ)’s election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump after a request from special counsel Jack Smith.
Smith’s concession is a remarkable symbolic moment for Trump, who has faced multiple lawsuits as he sought to return to the White House.
Trump’s victory against Vice President Kamala Harris essentially ended Smith’s hopes of convicting the former president. DOJ policy generally prohibits prosecutions of sitting presidents, and Smith’s case was set to drag on well into 2025 after hitting multiple roadblocks.
Smith’s motion to the court acknowledged the inevitable.
As a result of the election, Smith wrote, he “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.”
“Unprecedented circumstance” could also apply to Smith’s prosecution of Trump, who has argued Smith’s prosecutions were part of a politically motivated ploy to stop him from returning to the White House.
If true, the efforts were completely and utterly unsuccessful.
Smith’s prosecution in Florida against Trump for possession of classified documents was thrown out after a judge ruled that Attorney General Garland’s appointment of Smith was unconstitutional.
That ruling could have eventually halted Smith’s D.C. case too, although the point is now moot.
Smith instructed Chutkan he “will file a status report or otherwise inform the Court of the result of its deliberations” by December 2, 2024, although the prosecution has no viable path to success.
For Smith, who emerged as the face of Trump’s legal opposition, more trouble could be ahead after his absolute failure to prosecute Trump.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk sent a letter to Smith on Friday instructing him to preserve his records.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
