Opinion: What I Fear Forced Jack Smith to Delay Trump’s Jan. 6 Trial
Shan Wu is a former federal prosecutor who served as counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno
Some devilry may be afoot within the U.S. Justice Department as the usual aggressive pace of Special Counsel Jack Smith took an uncharacteristic time-out by asking to delay his response in the January 6 prosecution of former President Trump.
Smith, who has repeatedly emphasized the public’s need to have answers about Trump’s election interference efforts prior to the election, had been ordered by Judge Tanya Chutkan to confer with Trump’s defense lawyers to propose a schedule by Aug. 9 to be discussed at an Aug. 16 hearing. Instead, Smith filed a two-page joint status report, explaining that he needed more time to assess the effect of the U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity and asked to submit another status report on Aug. 30.