Trump campaign touts Jan. 6 case pause as ‘big win’

The Trump campaign on Wednesday took a victory lap over a judge’s ruling to pause proceedings in the former president’s federal election interference case, claiming it “derails” the government’s efforts to try the case before the 2024 election.

Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung welcomed the decision by Judge Tanya Chutkan to pause proceedings while Trump appeals a decision rejecting his efforts to toss the case.

“This is a big win for President Trump and our rule of law, as it derails Deranged Jack Smith’s rush to judgment strategy of interfering in the 2024 Presidential Election in support of Joe Biden’s campaign,” Cheung said, referring to special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges against Trump. 

“They waited almost three years to bring this hoax ‘case’ and are now desperately trying, and failing, to rush it because they know President Trump is dominating the election,” Cheung added. “The constitution should not be suspended in a baseless prosecution against the leading candidate for President.”

“The American people, not the courts, should decide who becomes president, and they are supporting President Trump in historic numbers,” he added.

Trump last week appealed an order from Chutkan that rejected his motion to dismiss the Jan. 6 case, likewise asking that she halt activity in the case while his appeal proceeds.

The move comes as Trump has argued the courts should dismiss the case both on the concept of presidential immunity, as well as on constitutional grounds, including the First Amendment.

The maneuver by Trump threatens to upend a March 4 trial date in the case and comes after prosecutors have argued the former president is simply using every avenue possible to disrupt the case in the hopes of punting the matter beyond the 2024 election.

Trump was indicted in August in Washington, D.C., on four charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. In that indictment, prosecutors allege that he “spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won.”