Prosecutor drops federal cases against Trump

Prosecutor Jack Smith, left and President-elect Donald Trump, right.

Smith claims his request was the result of a DOJ interpretation of the Constitution that the case be 'dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated'

(Image credit: Saul Loeb and Eva Marie Uzcategui / AFP via Getty Images)

By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

published 26 November 2024

What happened

Special Counsel Jack Smith Monday officially requested that a federal judge dismiss his office's longstanding indictment against Donald Trump for allegedly working to subvert the 2020 presidential election.

Smith's request is a "final acknowledgment" of his office's prosecutorial dead end and shows he's "bowing to the reality" of a Department of Justice policy against prosecuting sitting presidents, said The New York Times. In his letter to presiding judge Tanya Chutkan, Smith stressed that his request was "not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant," but was the result of a DOJ interpretation of the Constitution that the case be "dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated."

Smith's election subversion case, and his separate indictment against Trump for improper classified documents handling, had been on hold while the courts "awaited word from Smith about how he wanted to proceed in the cases due to Trump's election," said MSNBC. Incoming White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told Fox News that the request for dismissal of both cases was a "major victory for the rule of law."

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.