Frozen: Judge Tanya Chutkan officially puts Trump case on hold

A federal judge agreed to freeze the election interference case against Donald Trump three days after his election win.

Special counsel Jack Smith asked District Judge Tanya Chutkan to vacate upcoming deadlines in the case, which defense attorneys did not oppose. She put the prosecution on hold indefinitely, reported NBC News.

Smith pointed out in a filing Friday that Trump is set to be certified as president-elect on Jan. 6 and inaugurated Jan. 20, and the Department of Justice has a longstanding policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

A pause would give the special counsel's office "time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy," Smith said in the filing.

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Trump vowed just days before the election to fire Smith "within two seconds" of taking office again, and some of his allies have called for the special counsel to be prosecuted himself.

Smith's office secured indictments against Trump in the District of Columbia, where he was charged with offenses related to efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, and in Florida, where District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed charges related to his mishandling of classified documents because she ruled that the special counsel had been unlawfully appointed.