washington – Special counsel Jack Smith asked the court Wednesday to halt prosecutors’ objections to reviving the case. secret documents case In light of the Republican presidential victory against President-elect Donald Trump.

Smith’s team is evaluating How will the classified documents and the 2020 federal election interference case in Washington be closed before Trump takes office, given the Justice Department’s longstanding policy that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted?

The case, which accuses Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago mansion, was seen as the clearest legally of the four charges against Trump, given the breadth of evidence prosecutors say they have amassed. including this Testimony from close aides and former lawyersand because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House in 2021 and lost his presidential powers.

But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon He dismissed the case in JulyIt ruled that Smith was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. Smith appealed Trump’s decision to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last week.

Prosecutors asked the 11th Circuit at a hearing Wednesday to pause the appeal to “give the government time to evaluate this unprecedented situation and determine the appropriate path forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.” Smith’s team said they would “report the outcome of their discussions to the Court” by December 2 at the latest.

Judge presiding over federal case in Washington accuses Trump of conspiring to overturn 2020 election canceled all upcoming deadlines This comes after Smith’s team made a similar request last week.

Smith is expected to leave his post before Trump takes office, but special advisers are historically expected to produce publicly released reports on their work, and it remains unclear when such a document might be released.

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Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker contributed from Washington.