It looks like Special Counsel Jack Smith is starting to realize that his legal crusade against President-elect Trump might be hitting a dead end. In a surprise move, Smith has asked federal District Judge Tanya Chutkan to clear the decks of all existing deadlines for the cases he’s brought against Trump. Citing the need for more time to reassess the charges, Smith’s request signals that the clock might be winding down on what has been one of the most high-profile legal battles in U.S. history.
According to a report from CNN, this is the first real indication that Smith might be preparing to close the book on these cases. The special counsel is reportedly in talks with senior officials at the Department of Justice to figure out the best way forward, given the unprecedented situation of prosecuting a newly-elected president. The filing noted, “As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025.” The document continued, “The Government 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.”
Translation: Smith and his DOJ colleagues are facing a legal conundrum of historic proportions. How do you continue prosecuting someone who has just been elected President of the United States? The request to delay the proceedings until at least December 2 suggests that Smith is weighing his options carefully, but the writing on the wall is hard to ignore.
For Trump, this move is vindication. He’s been saying all along that the cases brought against him are nothing more than politically-motivated witch hunts, and now that he’s heading back to the White House, it seems like the tide is turning in his favor. Trump has been vocal about his plans to fire Jack Smith as special counsel once he takes office and to dismiss the charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and mishandling of classified documents. Let’s not forget the infamous raid on Mar-a-Lago back in August 2022, when federal agents swarmed Trump’s Florida residence looking for classified material. Trump has maintained that the documents were declassified before he left the White House and were securely stored at his home.
Back when the raid happened, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy didn’t hold back, calling out the DOJ for its overtly political actions. “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization,” McCarthy declared, capturing the sentiments of millions who saw the raid as yet another example of the deep state’s vendetta against Trump.
So what happens next? If the December 2 status report from the DOJ hints at dropping the charges, it would be a major win for Trump and a huge blow to his critics. It would also mark the end of a legal saga that has dominated headlines for years and been a central feature of the political drama surrounding Trump’s presidency. One thing’s for sure: the countdown to January 20 is on, and with Trump set to take the oath of office once again, the Justice Department might be forced to rethink its strategy, or risk sparking an even bigger political firestorm.
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