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Special counsel Jack Smith requested a three-week delay on Thursday to respond to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 case, a move the 45th president blasted on social media.
The move comes after the Supreme Court ruled in July that presidents are immune from prosecution for most official acts.
“The Government continues to assess the new precedent set forth last month in the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States,” Smith’s team wrote in its filing, according to The Hill.
“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,” it added.
District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan previously ordered Smith and Trump’s legal team to work together to propose how to proceed following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Smith’s team is now proposing for the legal teams to meet on Aug. 30. The current hearing scheduled by Chutkan would then also need to be delayed, likely into September.
The latest development set up a scenario where Trump could face a court date just weeks before the November presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump spoke out on the matter in a Truth Social post on Thursday that blasted the legal challenge as a witch hunt.
“It is clear that the Supreme Court’s Historic Decision on Immunity demands and requires a Complete and Total Dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts — The January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C., the Manhattan D.A.’s Zombie Case, the New York A.G. Scam, Fake Claims about a woman I never met (a 40 year old photo in a line with her then husband does not count!), and the Georgia “Perfect” Phone Call charges,” he wrote.
Trump blamed the attacks on Democrats in the Justice Department, calling their actions election interference.
“The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference Conspiracy against Crazy Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he continued.
