Tanya Chutkan, the district judge in former President Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case, granted an extension Friday after a request from special counsel Jack Smith. The hearing on next steps will be Sept. 5 instead of Aug. 16.
Smith's office requested the delay Thursday, saying the team is still working through how to proceed after a Supreme Court ruling in July granted Trump sweeping immunity for official acts as president.
In the filing, prosecutors wrote: "The Government continues to assess the new precedent set forth last month in the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. United States," adding, "although those consultations are well underway, the Government has not finalized its position on the most appropriate schedule for the parties to brief issues related to the decision."
Chutkan set the Aug. 16 hearing date last week after the high court ruling sent the case back to her jurisdiction. She must now decide if any of the charges Trump faces can be prosecuted.
Trump pleaded not guilty last year to an indictment in which he was accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Friday's move by Chutkan also pushed back the deadline to Aug. 30 for a status report initially due on Friday.
The ongoing appeals process had already made Trump's trial unlikely to take place before the Nov. 5 election.
Lawyers for Trump did not dispute the request for more time.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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