UNITED States special counsel Jack Smith has moved to dismiss two criminal cases accusing President-elect Donald Trump of seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling secret government documents.
In a court filing in the election interference case, prosecutors on Monday cited Trump’s return to the White House after his successful 2024 re-election campaign and a longstanding Department of Justice policy not to prosecute sitting presidents.
They said the department had reasoned that Trump’s “prosecution must be dismissed” before his inauguration on January 20 of next year.
“It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President,” the filing reads.
“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,” it continues.
The move represents a remarkable shift by the special prosecutor, who obtained indictments against Trump in two cases accusing him of crimes that threatened US election integrity and national security.
The latter case deals with the alleged mishandling of secret government documents.
Separately on Monday, prosecutors also announced that they were dropping their appeal of a federal judge’s dismissal earlier this year of the classified documents case — delivering another victory to Trump and his incoming administration.
Reporting from West Palm Beach, Florida, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna said the Justice Department’s decisions were “not unexpected” given its longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
But Hanna noted that questions remain over whether the federal charges can be brought up again once Trump is no longer in the White House. “This is something that is a real grey area in terms of law,” he said.
