Last week saw Judge Tanya Chutkan grant Special Counsel Jack Smith's request for a three-week delay in his Washington, D.C. case against former President Donald Trump.

One observer recently suggested this could be a sign of impending defeat for Smith as his prosecution has reached "an impasse." 

Delay request came following major Supreme Court ruling on immunity

That possibility was put forward on Monday in an op-ed piece by New York Sun associate editor A.R. Hoffman, who noted that the request was made so Smith's team has "extra time to digest" a recent Supreme Court ruling.

America's highest judicial body concluded last month that a "may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts."

While the president can be prosecuted for unofficial acts, immunity for official actions "applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office, regardless of politics, policy, or party."

In his article, Hoffman pointed to the fact that Smith's delay request cites a need for "consultation with other Justice Department components."

Case will not be resolved before Americans vote in November

The associate editor took this as evidence of involvement by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who originally appointed Smith.

Hoffman noted that Garland has long faced criticism from some on the left for being insufficiently aggressive in his pursuit of Trump.

This criticism has even come from President Joe Biden, with The New York Times reporting in 2022 that Biden privately said "he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor."

This latest delay appears to all but confirm that Trump's Washington, D.C. case has no chance of coming to an end before voters go to the polls in November.

Delay could be part of an effort to swing election for Harris

However, Hoffman acknowledged that instead of being an admission of defeat, the pause could be an attempt to swing the election towards Vice President Harris.

"If Vice President Harris wins the White House, the special counsel will have at least four more years to secure a 'guilty' verdict," Hoffman pointed out.

"Witnesses will be called and evidence will be presented that could cast [Trump] in an unflattering light," Hoffman wrote.

"What happens at Judge Chutkan's courtroom could affect what transpires at the ballot box on November 5, Trump’s contention from the beginning," he added.