Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against on Monday, acknowledging that TrumpB次元官网网址檚 return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term.
Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal maneuvers and then winning reelection despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the countryB次元官网网址檚 constitutional foundations.
B次元官网网址淚 persevered, against all odds, and WON,B次元官网网址� Trump exulted in a post on Truth Social, his social media website.
He also said that B次元官网网址渢hese cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.B次元官网网址�
The judge in the election case granted prosecutorsB次元官网网址� dismissal request. A decision in the documents case was still pending on Monday evening.
The outcome makes it clear that, when it comes to a president and criminal accusations, nothing supersedes the votersB次元官网网址� own verdict. In court filings, SmithB次元官网网址檚 team emphasized that the move to end their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief.
B次元官网网址淭hat prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the GovernmentB次元官网网址檚 proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,B次元官网网址� prosecutors said in one of their filings.
They wrote that TrumpB次元官网网址檚 return to the White House B次元官网网址渟ets at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: on the one hand, the ConstitutionB次元官网网址檚 requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities B次元官网网址� and on the other hand, the NationB次元官网网址檚 commitment to the rule of law.B次元官网网址�
In this situation, B次元官网网址渢he Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,B次元官网网址� they concluded.
SmithB次元官网网址檚 team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case B次元官网网址� Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira B次元官网网址� because B次元官网网址渘o principle of temporary immunity applies to them.B次元官网网址�
Steven Cheung, TrumpB次元官网网址檚 incoming White House communications director, said Americans B次元官网网址渨ant an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.B次元官网网址�
Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will start his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead.
The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supportersB次元官网网址� violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over TrumpB次元官网网址檚 sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House.
The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial.
The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this yearB次元官网网址檚 election. SmithB次元官网网址檚 team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence it planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of B次元官网网址渞esorting to crimesB次元官网网址� in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden.
In dismissing the case, Chutkan acknowledged prosecutorsB次元官网网址� request to do so B次元官网网址渨ithout prejudice,B次元官网网址� raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump when his term is over. She wrote that is B次元官网网址渃onsistent with the GovernmentB次元官网网址檚 understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office.B次元官网网址�
But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office.
The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency.
The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings B次元官网网址� which favored TrumpB次元官网网址檚 strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases B次元官网网址� while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings.
In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. SmithB次元官网网址檚 team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort.
Trump faced two other state prosecutions while running for president. One of them, a New York case involving hush money payments, on felony charges of falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president had been found guilty of a crime.
The sentencing in that case is on hold as TrumpB次元官网网址檚 lawyers try to have the conviction dismissed before he takes office, arguing that letting the verdict stand will interfere with his presidential transition and duties.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin BraggB次元官网网址檚 office is fighting the dismissal but has indicated that it would be until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the solution needs to balance the obligations of the presidency with B次元官网网址渢he sanctity of the jury verdict.B次元官网网址�
Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there.
Any trial appears unlikely there while Trump holds office. The prosecution already after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case.
Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.
