Parnas and Fruman worked closely with Giuliani on several efforts related to Ukraine, including a successful drive to oust the U.S. ambassador to that country, Marie Yovanovitch. She was removed from her post last May.

An indictment returned against the businessmen last year charged them with violating U.S. campaign finance laws by funneling funds from abroad and hiding their source. In the indictment, Yovanovitch’s ouster is discussed as one of the goals the conspirators were allegedly seeking to achieve.

Giuliani was not charged in the case and he has denied any wrongdoing. However, federal prosecutors have been scrutinizing his activities with Parnas and Fruman, as well as his broader activities relating to Ukraine.

Attorneys and other observers had been watching closely to see whether prosecutors and defense lawyers entered plea negotiations in advance of any trial — a process that could produce information that might advance various federal investigations. The delay of the trial until next year, however, means that process will also be pushed back for months, or longer.

Prosecutors have repeatedly discussed the possibility of a superseding indictment in the case, which could add new charges and perhaps even new defendants. However, that also now seems at least months away, because of suspensions of normal grand jury meetings as a result of the pandemic.

“The Government has informed the defendants that its timeline for seeking a superseding indictment has been pushed back due to issues involving the availability of witnesses and grand jurors given the pandemic-related travel and social-distancing restrictions,” prosecutors wrote in a filing Tuesday with U.S. District Court Judge Paul Oetken.