DOJ special counsel Smith drops federal criminal cases against Trump

Ashley Murray, States Newsroom

This article was originally published by States Newsroom.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump is over, at least during his forthcoming presidency.

Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the case’s dismissal late Monday afternoon after U.S. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith requested to dismiss the case without prejudice — meaning it could be tried again in the future once Trump’s term is over.

Trump had faced four felony counts relating to fraud and obstruction for his role in scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, which eventually erupted into political violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Smith also filed a dismissal request Monday in Florida to drop the case pertaining to Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.

Citing the Justice Department’s “careful consideration” of the unprecedented situation, Smith told federal courts in Florida and Washington, D.C., that it would be unconstitutional for his office to continue prosecuting the incoming president, who is set to take the oath of office on Jan. 20.

“(T)he Department and the country have never faced the circumstance here, where a federal indictment against a private citizen has been returned by a grand jury and a criminal prosecution is already underway when the defendant is elected President,” Smith wrote in a filing in federal court in D.C.

A federal grand jury handed up an indictment of Trump in August 2023 and a superseding indictment this past August.

Despite the prohibition on continuing the case against Trump, Smith wrote that the government “stands fully behind” the foundation of it.

“The Government’s position on the merits of the defendant’s prosecution has not changed,” Smith wrote. “But the circumstances have…”

A Trump representative hailed Smith’s decision as a “major victory for the rule of law.”

“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,” Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, said in a statement Monday.

The question of prosecuting a president has come up twice in recent U.S. history, but only while that president was already in office. Both times — in 1973, under President Richard Nixon, and in 2000, during Bill Clinton’s administration — the Justice Department blocked cases, citing constitutional constraints and harm to the president’s ability to perform the role.

Classified documents case

The special counsel also requested to drop the government’s appeal to pursue charges against Trump for his alleged hoarding of classified documents at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate after he left office.

Judge Aileen Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed the case in July.

Smith will continue the appeal against Trump’s two co-defendants, Trump’s valet Waltine Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Olivera, who are also accused of mishandling the classified material.

The federal investigations were two of four criminal prosecutions that Trump faced while campaigning to win back the presidency.

Trump made history in May as the first former president to become a convicted felon when he was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York. The case centered on Trump’s cover-up of hush money paid to an adult film actress ahead of his election in 2016. His sentencing, scheduled for Tuesday, has been indefinitely postponed.

Trump’s criminal election interference investigation in Georgia has been in a prolonged holding pattern during a drawn-out dispute over the prosecutor’s ethics. While Trump’s Georgia prosecution will likely be dropped, the state could continue its case against the 14 co-defendants. 

Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom.