Jack Smith seeks delay in Trump’s election interference case after Supreme Court immunity ruling derailed it

Special Counsel Jack Smith is seeking a three-week delay in Donald Trump’s election interference case to give prosecutors more time to propose next steps in light of the Supreme Court’s unprecedented ruling around presidential immunity.

Smith’s office indicted Trump in August 2023 over his allegedly “criminal scheme” to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory by installing slates of “fake electors” in states he lost, ordering the Justice Department to conduct “sham election crime investigations” and pressuring then-vice president Mike Pence to “alter the election results,” then failing to stop a mob that sought to do it be force.

The Republican presidential nominee pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The case was frozen in District JudgeTanya Chutkan‘s courtroom since February, pending a ruling from the Supreme Court on the former president’s argument that he had “immunity” from prosecution over acts carried out while in office.

On July 1, the conservative-leaning court handed down its ruling, granting Trump and future presidents “absolutel” immunity for “official” acts — but not “unofficial” acts — in office.

The case was returned to Chutkan’s court after the ruling, and she quickly got to work to dismiss Trump’s other attempts to toss out the charges and asked both sides to submit proposals on how to move forward.

But in a joint status filing on Thursday, Smith’s office sought a further delay to the case, saying his office is continuing “to assess the new precedent set forth last month” in tandem with “other Department of Justice components”.

The filing continued: “Although those consultations are well underway, the government has not finalized its position on the most appropriate schedule for the parties to brief issues