Special Counsel Jack Smith Moves to Dismiss Both Federal Criminal Cases Against Trump
U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith filed motions on November 25 in federal court in Washington, D.C., and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, asking to dismiss both federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump. Smith cited the Justice Department's longstanding position that the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting president: Trump had won the November 5 election and would be inaugurated on January 20, 2025, so both prosecutions had to be dismissed before he took office.
The Washington case was the 2020 election interference prosecution (No. 1:23-cr-00257-TSC). Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48(a), Smith moved to dismiss the superseding indictment without prejudice, and defense counsel did not object. The filing said the Special Counsel's Office had consulted the Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), whose interpretation of such constitutional questions binds Department prosecutors, and that OLC's prior opinions applied to this situation. The prohibition, Smith wrote, "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." Judge Tanya Chutkan granted the motion the same day, dismissing the indictment without prejudice and noting that the immunity afforded a sitting president is temporary and expires when he leaves office.
The case began with a grand jury indictment on August 1, 2023, charging Trump with four felonies -- conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights -- over efforts to overturn the 2020 election results culminating in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The case never reached trial amid immunity appeals.
The same day, Smith moved in the Eleventh Circuit to dismiss the government's appeal as to Trump alone in the classified documents case. In that case, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in the Southern District of Florida had dismissed the indictment in July 2024, holding Smith's appointment unconstitutional; dropping the appeal as to Trump left that dismissal in place as to him. The appeal continued against co-defendants Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：特别检察官 Jack Smith 官方照片（美国司法部），公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons；原图为司法部官方影像，宽度 579 像素为源文件原生尺寸。 / Photo: Official photo of Special Counsel Jack Smith (U.S. Department of Justice), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
