Special Counsel Jack Smith seeks to dismiss federal charges against Trump in election case

Special counsel Jack Smith has filed motions to drop all federal charges against President-elect Donald Trump regarding his mishandling of classified documents and his effort to overturn his 2020 presidential election, leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S Capitol.

Trump was first indicted in June 2023 in a federal court in Miami on 37 felony counts related to mishandling classified documents that he took from the White House to his Florida home. A Florida judge dismissed the case, but Smith’s office had sought an appeal. Trump was separately indicted on four felonies in August 2023 for his attempt to reverse the 2020 election results: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

In newly filed court documents, Smith asked a federal district court in Washington on Monday to dismiss the charges against Trump. Federal prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that they are seeking to close Trump’s case because Justice Department policy forbids the prosecution of a sitting president. The special counsel is seeking to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could decide to charge Trump again after he leaves office in January 2029.

Smith wrote: “After careful consideration, the department has determined that [the Office of Legal Counsel’s] prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting president apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated. That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the government stands fully behind.”

The special counsel noted the historic nature of Trump’s prosecution and subsequent election to the presidency, writing that the “department and the country have never faced the circumstance here, where a federal indictment against a private citizen has been returned by a grand jury and a criminal prosecution is already underway when the defendant is elected president.”  After consultation with the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, Smith said “the department’s position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.”

In his six-page motion, Smith said that he conferred with Trump’s lawyers, and they do not object to the request to drop the case. Steven Cheung, Trump’s spokesman, said in a statement: “The American people re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate to make America great again. Today’s decision by the DOJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump and is a major victory for the rule of law. The American people and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.”

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