Based on the Department’s interpretation of the Constitution, the Government moves for dismissal without prejudice of the superseding indictment,’ he wrote.
Special counsel Jack Smith on Nov. 25 dropped the charges in his election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump, while also moving to drop his appeal of a judge’s decision in the president-elect’s classified documents case.
In a six-page court filing in a Washington federal court, Smith’s team wrote that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has long argued “that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” referring to Trump’s recent election victory.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, hours later, agreed to drop the election case.
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“This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant,” the filing states.
His office said that prosecutors have conferred with Trump’s attorneys, who indicated they do not oppose the government’s motion.
“Based on the Department’s interpretation of the Constitution, the Government moves for dismissal without prejudice of the superseding indictment,” the court documents state.
At the same time, in a federal appeals court, Smith also stated he is dropping his appeal of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s July decision to dismiss a case that accused the president-elect of illegally retaining classified records and obstructing an investigation.
“Dismissing the appeal as to defendant Trump will leave in place the district court’s order dismissing the indictment without prejudice as to him,” Smith’s filing stated. But his appeal concerning two other defendants in the case, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, “will continue because, unlike defendant Trump, no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.”
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Cannon had dismissed the case after agreeing with arguments that Smith was not lawfully appointed as special counsel. Smith in August asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to reverse her decision.
The move marks an end to Smith’s criminal pursuit of Trump over the past two years or so, accusing him of attempting to illegally overturn the 2020 election. Smith alleged that Trump mishandled classified documents in a separate case that was dismissed over the summer by a federal judge.
Smith’s decision was anticipated after his team said in court filings that it was assessing how to wind down both the 2020 election interference case and the classified documents case in the wake of Trump’s win on Nov. 5 over Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to Smith’s team, the DOJ believes that in accordance with a longstanding policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, the president-elect can no longer be tried.
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The DOJ policy that Smith is referring to, which dates back to the 1970s, provides that a criminal prosecution of a sitting president would violate the U.S. Constitution by undermining the ability of the country’s chief executive to function.
Trump has often criticized the two cases that were brought by Smith, who was named as the special counsel by outgoing Attorney General Merrick Garland, describing them as attempts to use the DOJ to target a political opponent. Earlier this year, Trump told a radio host that if he were elected, he would move to remove Smith as special counsel.
Smith’s election case ultimately resulted in a July 1 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said presidents can enjoy some immunity from prosecution for their official acts and duties.
Months later, Smith filed a superseding indictment that argued that Trump acted on his own accord and not within his presidential duties when he allegedly broke the law. Trump had pleaded not guilty to those charges.
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Trump’s lawyers had previously said they would seek to dismiss the charges based on a Supreme Court ruling in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution over official actions taken while in the White House.
Trump also faced similar, election-related charges in Fulton County, Georgia. However, that case is in limbo after a codefendant accused the prosecutor, Fani Willis, of being in a romantic relationship with her special counsel, Nathan Wade, who resigned earlier this year after a judge issued a related order.
That Fulton County judge allowed Willis to remain on the case. Trump and several codefendants then petitioned the Georgia Court of Appeals to reject the judge’s ruling, effectively pausing the case.
In Trump’s business records case in New York, sentencing was postponed indefinitely on Nov. 22 by a judge after Trump’s election win. On May 30, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with payments he made during the 2016 presidential campaign, which he had denied were illegal.
Sentencing in that case was initially scheduled for July but was postponed until Nov. 26. In a ruling on Nov. 22, Judge Juan Merchan wrote that he was granting a request to adjourn that sentencing date.
Reuters contributed to this report.
