Trump Attorneys Request 60-Day Extension To File Pre-Trial Motions in Election Obstruction Case

Attorneys for Donald Trump on Thursday said they need an additional two months to file pre-trial motions in the federal case to be tried next spring in Washington, D.C., in which the former president is accused of obstructing the 2020 election.

In a motion filed Thursday, Trump's attorneys requested U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan grant them a 60-day extension of the current pre-trial motion deadline of Oct. 9.

The proposed extension to early December "would not affect any other deadlines, and the case would continue to trial on schedule," Trump's lawyers wrote in the motion, referring to the March 2024 start date for jury selection in the D.C. case.

"The prosecution would have equal time to file pretrial motions by the new proposed deadline and would retain the same ability to respond to significant motions filed by the defense, including those addressed to threshold presidential immunity issues and the applicability of the indicted offenses to the described presidential conduct," the former president's defense team added.

Attorneys for Trump argued the "novel and complex legal issues" in the case merit an extension of time so they can fully prepare present pre-trial arguments.

"This is the first time in history anyone—let alone a President of the United States—has been charged, in the defense's view wrongfully, with conspiracies related to a contested election," Trump's attorneys wrote. "It is also the first time a President has been charged for conduct committed while in office, and the first time the leading presidential candidate has been charged in the middle of a campaign by the opponent's administration."

As a result, Trump's legal team said they need additional time to "research and address issues of extreme constitutional import that require careful analysis and briefing."

In the filing, Trump's legal team noted that the proposed extension is opposed by Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the proceedings, on Thursday ordered Special Counsel Jack Smith's office to file any response to the extension request by Oct. 3, with a reply due from Trump's lawyers three days after that.

Trump is charged with four federal felonies in the case, and has pleaded not guilty.