An undated photo of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, where the cases of many of the defendants have been processed since Jan. 6. (US District Court for the District of Columbia)

A federal judge on Thursday postponed a December trial for a man accused in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot after the man pointed to President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to pardon those defendants or otherwise end the prosecutions.

Most Capitol violation trials and sentencing are ongoing, and other judges have continued to schedule them for the new year. U.S. prosecutors argued that courts should proceed as they would in the prosecution of any crime, citing “society’s interest in the prompt and efficient administration of justice.”

But over the Justice Department’s objection, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras appeared to acknowledge Thursday that the case before him could be thrown out, granting defendant William Pope’s request to delay a trial scheduled for Dec. 2 until at least February, at four years after he was first charged.

Contreras, an Obama appointee, is the first judge to postpone a related Jan. 6 trial for the post-election transition period. The move could save court resources and potential jurors’ time while allowing the picture to become clearer after Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

Pope, who faces one count of rioting and other felony and disorderly conduct charges, peppered the courtroom with dozens of objections to government exhibits, motions to suppress evidence and a proposed 60-question survey of potential jurors.

“The American people have given President Trump the mandate to carry out the agenda he campaigned for, which includes ending criminal prosecutions on January 6 and pardoning those who exercised their First Amendment rights on Capitol Hill,” Pope wrote in court, asking for a adjournment. “This result and the new mandate from the people justifies the continuation of my process in the next administration.”

Separately on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, set an April 15 trial date for three defendants charged with misdemeanor trespassing and disorderly conduct at the Capitol after a prosecutor in the case admitted that he did not knows if the case will work. before, said Elise Amato, a lawyer for one of the defendants. The U.S. District Attorney’s office declined to comment.

“He asked the prosecutor what she could or could not do in this case, and she really couldn’t say,” Amato said. “The judge was willing to go (later) to give everybody more time to see what happens.”

Other judges took a different approach.

“The potential future exercise of pardon discretion, an authority of the executive branch, is irrelevant to the Court’s obligation to carry out its legal responsibilities as a judicial branch,” U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton wrote last week, rejecting another defendant’s request for the misdemeanor. .