DOJ files motion to vacate Trump trial deadlines

Special counsel Jack Smith filed an unopposed motion Friday to vacate all remaining deadlines in the election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump. The motion does not dismiss the case outright, but the U.S. Department of Justice has until Dec. 2 to file a status report and inform the court of what it plans to do next. Current DOJ policy prohibits the agency from prosecuting a sitting president.

Is this the end of the litigation road? House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, warned Smith in a letter today to retain all records related to the prosecutions against Trump. Republicans on the committee worry that the special counsel’s office will start to purge documents before Trump takes office, according to the letter. The committee is currently conducting an oversight investigation of the DOJ and the Office of Special Counsel. The letter itemizes several types of records and communications that Smith is requested to hand over to Congress by Nov. 22.

What about Trump’s other cases? The Georgia election interference case has been stalled since June while courts determine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may still prosecute the case. There is currently no law prohibiting states from bringing cases against sitting presidents. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26 following his business fraud trial conviction. However, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan will decide on Tuesday whether to toss out the conviction.

Dig deeper: On the World and Everything in It podcast, Mary Reichard interviews a legal scholar on Jack Smith’s updated indictment following the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.