Former President Donald Trump's and Hunter Biden's criminal proceedings likely won't face much delay if the government shuts down next month, despite efforts by House Republicans to stymie special counsel Jack Smith.
The Republican-led House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate have until Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown by passing spending legislation that President Joe Biden can sign to keep federal agencies operating. But if funding lapses, the judiciary can use court fees and other available funds to continue hearing cases, a spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said Tuesday.
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"As they have during prior appropriations lapses, the courts and federal defender's offices are conserving available funds by deferring non-mission critical expenses, such as new hires, non-case-related travel, and certain contracts," the administrative office spokesperson said in a statement.
Trump's indictments in New York and Georgia wouldn't be affected, while his federal indictments for allegedly mishandling classified materials and accusations that he tried to subvert the 2020 election are criminal matters that will be exempted from the impacts of a shutdown.
The DOJ clarified in a 2021 memo that during a shutdown, "Criminal litigation will continue without interruption as an activity essential to the safety of human life and the protection of property.”
"The administration of justice at least within the Justice Department certainly slows down," Aram Gavoor, a law professor at George Washington University, told Newsweek. "The courts do their very best to stay open, using the different revenue streams that are not appropriated at their disposal."
Gavoor added that he didn't believe there would be much impact on Trump's cases unless there were a "historically unprecedented" shutdown period. Some delays could occur, such as rescheduling due to a lawyer from the executive branch being furloughed or hearing dates being rescheduled.
A spokesperson for the special counsel's office noted that it is funded via a "permanent, indefinite appropriation for independent counsels."
Likewise, the president's son, Hunter, shouldn't expect any slowdown in his criminal proceedings as well because his counsel and prosecutors are presently seeking to nail down whether he will appear in person or via a video feed for his arraignment on gun charges at the U.S. District Court in Delaware.
There's been some disagreement among Republicans in the House about how the shutdown would affect special counsels within the DOJ. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said that his colleague Rep. Byron Donalds's (R-FL) continuing resolution to allow the government to keep operating would be greenlighting special counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of Trump.
"The Donalds CR is a permission slip for Jack Smith to continue his election interference as they are trying to gag the former president of the United States and the leading contender for the Republican nomination," Gaetz said Tuesday.
Donalds later took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, saying the "DOJ will operate whether the government is shut down or not," noting special counsels are typically exempted from shutdowns.
Gaetz responded that his resolution "sends them a check," referring to Smith and the DOJ, and suggested that they could succeed at defunding the special counsel's investigations by proposing "single subject spending bills."
The policymaking body for federal courts, the Judicial Conference, remains focused on overall funding for the next fiscal year, according to Judge Lavenski Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, who told reporters last week a shutdown is a "consistent matter of concern."
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House Republicans have suggested allocating $8.7 billion to the federal judiciary, while Democrats have proposed $8.56 billion, both of which fall short of the $9.1 billion sought by the judiciary.
The Supreme Court will begin its term the first week of October and is slated to hear six arguments in the first two weeks of the month. The high court has in the past relied on funds not appropriated by Congress to continue operations during a shutdown.