President-elect Trump’s pardoning power once he assumes office is looming over cases involving Jan. 6 rioters, prompting some delays over his promise to grant clemency to supporters who stormed the Capitol in 2021.

A federal judge has already agreed to delay a rioter’s trial until after Trump’s January inauguration – just over a week after the former president once again secured victory to the White House. But that may prove to be pointless if Trump makes good on a promise to pardon his supporters.

Will Pope, a doctoral student at Kansas State University who is facing several charges – and is representing himself – said Thursday that his trial scheduled for Dec. 2 will not proceed as planned.

"(U.S. District Judge Rudolph) Contreras has granted my motion to continue my trial because he agreed a long trial was not a good use of judicial resources considering the likelihood of January 6 charges being dropped,” Pope wrote on the social media platform X.

A new trial date will be determined at a status hearing next month, the judge said in a brief order.

Contreras, who was appointed by former President Obama, is among the first to grant a delay in a Jan. 6 case following Trump’s presidential election victory.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, also declined Thursday to set a trial date for three rioters charged with misdemeanors for trespassing in the Capitol, citing Trump’s imminent takeover of the Justice Department, according to Politico.

Most other judges have uniformly denied efforts by several Capitol rioters to push off their........

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