Judge denies Jan. 6 defendant’s bid to delay trial that could straddle Trump inauguration

A Jan. 6 defendant facing five felony charges could be on trial at the precise moment power changes hand from President Joe Biden to President-elect Donald Trump — an uncomfortable prospect for prosecutors bracing for a leadership change that could upend cases stemming from the attack on the Capitol.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich on Tuesday denied a bid by defendant Michael Picciuto to postpone his Jan. 13 trial into April, who cited the prospect of a pardon from Trump and the potential awkwardness of being on trial at the moment the transfer of power occurs as a reason to delay.

“The chances of this going a week could easily actually roll into the date of the inauguration itself,” Picciuto’s attorney Jay Crook said.

But Friedrich, a Trump appointee, said the hope for a pardon is “entirely speculative in nature.” Trump has not indicated whether any future pardons would extend to all members of the Jan. 6 mob or only those facing misdemeanor charges. And she said she was hopeful that Picciuto’s trial would be over before crashing into the new administration.

“Delaying every January 6th case with the expectation that some or all will result in a pardon is an unmanageable suggestion,” she said.

About 200 Jan. 6 defendants have faced trials over the last four years, and Picciuto’s could be the last if Trump and his new Justice Department leadership act quickly to pull the plug on lingering prosecutions.