Special Counsel Jack Smith appears to be slowing down the prosecution of former President Donald Trump, particularly following a recent Supreme Court ruling that grants presidents absolute immunity for their official acts.
Legal scholar Jonathan Turley suggests that Smith’s reluctance to proceed quickly with the January 6th case stems from this new precedent, leading him to request a three-week delay to reassess the charges against Trump.
Turley speculates that Smith might either abandon the prosecution or aim for a post-election trial, given the approaching election timeline.
“The Government continues to assess the new precedent set forth last month in the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States. 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,” Turley wrote.
He also noted that Smith may consider scaling back the charges he originally filed against Trump, reflecting on past experiences where ambitious prosecutorial approaches led to overturned convictions.
The developments indicate that a trial before the election is becoming increasingly unlikely, potentially making voters the most significant jurors in history.
“A three-week delay will give Smith ample time (in addition to the weeks following the Supreme Court decision) to deliberate. However, it will take roughly a month off the calendar for just internal debate with the election only three months away,” Turley said. “So, even with a judge who appears chomping at the bit to resume the fast track to trial, Smith now wants more time. Even before this request, it was hard to see how a trial could be held before the election. Now it seems a virtual certainty that any trial will have to await the results of the election. As I wrote in 2023, the odds were against a federal trial before the election, which would convert the voters into the largest jury in history.”
