Special counsel hits pause on Donald Trump election interference case

The Justice Department has a long-standing policy of not prosecuting a sitting president

WASHINGTON: A federal judge on Friday granted a request by Special Counsel Jack Smith to pause the case against Donald Trump for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

In a filing with District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, Smith noted that Trump won the White House race this week and is to be inaugurated as president on January 20, 2025.

He asked Chutkan to vacate the filing deadlines in the case "to afford the government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy."

Chutkan granted Smith's request without comment.

The Justice Department has a long-standing policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.

Smith said he would file a status report with the court by December 2.

Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding - the session of Congress called to certify Joe Biden's win, which was violently attacked on January 6, 2021, by a mob of the former president's supporters.

Trump is also accused of seeking to disenfranchise US voters with his false claims that he won the 2020 election.

Smith charged Trump with mishandling top secret documents after leaving the White House, but that case was tossed out by a federal judge in Florida, a Trump appointee, on the grounds that Smith was unlawfully appointed.

Smith had appealed the dismissal but is now expected to drop the appeal.

Trump also faces two state cases - in New York and Georgia.

He was convicted in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election to stop her from revealing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter.

Trump was scheduled to be sentenced in July, but his lawyers asked that his conviction be tossed in light of the Supreme Court immunity ruling.

Judge Juan Merchan is to rule on the dismissal motion on November 12 and has set sentencing - should it still be necessary - for November 26.

Trump, the first former president convicted of a crime, faces up to four years in prison on each count. As a first-time offender, however, he was considered far more likely to receive a fine and probation - but that was before his White House win.

In Georgia, Trump faces racketeering charges over his efforts to subvert the 2020 results in the southern state, but that case will likely be frozen while he is in office under the policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.