WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith has asked the judge in Donald Trump’s election interference criminal trial to pause the process and give him a month to formally ask how to move forward — likely the first step in the process. end the proceedings.

In a document filed Friday, Smith said that “as a result of the election,” the prosecution “apparently asks the Court to waive the remaining deadlines on the pretrial calendar to give the government time to evaluate this unprecedented circumstance.”

The Justice Department has long had a policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents. The DOJ had begun evaluating how to end the case against Trump after his election victory, sources told NBC News this week.

Trump was indicted in the case in August 2023, but significant delays prevented him from going to trial. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

Trump was indicted as part of efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and accused of fraud and attempting to disenfranchise American voters. Separately, he was accused of mishandling classified documents in a Florida case that was finally rejected following objections to Smith’s status as special prosecutor.