Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday dropped the January 6 “election interference” case against President-elect Donald Trump, seeking a judge’s dismissal of the charges.
In a 6-page court filing, Smith’s team cited the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Watergate-era policy that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted and “that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” referring to Trump’s recent election victory.
“This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant,” the filing states.
NBC News just broke in to announce "Special Counsel Jack Smith just filed a motion to dismiss the federal criminal case against the president-elect."
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 25, 2024
This is a MASSIVE WIN for the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/2lkzsE2v1t
“Based on the Department’s interpretation of the Constitution, the Government moves for dismissal without prejudice of the superseding indictment,” the court documents state.
This marks the end of Smith’s two-year prosecution of Trump alleging that he attempted to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The saga of Smith’s election interference case became more dramatic after the Supreme Court in June ruled that a sitting president has some immunity from prosecution for their official acts and duties.
That decision prompted Smith to a file a superseding indictment against Trump months later claiming he acted on his own accord and not within his presidential duties when he allegedly broke the law.
Smith had also accused Trump of allegedly mishandling classified documents in a separate case, which was dismissed over the summer by Judge Aileen Cannon.
The decision isn’t all that surprising since Smith’s team announced earlier this month that it would move to wind down its lawfare cases against Trump in the wake of his landslide election victory.
Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung issued a statement taking a victory lap over the collapse of Smith’s unsuccessful lawfare campaigns against the former president.
“Today’s decision by the DOJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump, and is a major victory for the rule of law,” Cheung wrote.
TRUMP CAMPAIGN: "Today's decision by the DOJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump, and is a major victory for the rule of law." https://t.co/iInTEMIRBe pic.twitter.com/qfOWOZbfp2
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 25, 2024
“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,” he added.
Despite Smith dropping his two cases against Trump, the president-elect pledged to fire Smith and his prosecutorial team upon taking office and investigate how the 2020 election was conducted.
Meanwhile, the other two lawfare cases against Trump in Georgia and New York remain on life support.
Trump and several co-defendants petitioned the Georgia Court of Appeals to reject the judge’s ruling that openly anti-Trump District Attorney Fani Willis can remain on the case alleging he interfered in the state’s election process. The petition has put the case on pause.
And New York Judge Juan Merchan indefinitely postponed the sentencing date against Trump after he was convicted of falsifying business records in connection to hush payments he made during the 2016 presidential campaign to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Many legal experts believe the conviction ruling could eventually be overturned on appeal.
