The Department of Justice intends to discontinue the federal criminal cases led by special counsel Jack Smith against President-elect Donald Trump, citing legal obstacles and a DOJ policy that prohibits the prosecution of individuals currently serving as president.
Smith’s charges include election interference and mishandling classified documents, but recent rulings have complicated the cases.
NBC News justice correspondent Ken Dilanian reported, “It’s not a surprise that these cases can’t go forward when Donald Trump takes office. What’s interesting here is that the DOJ is moving to end them even before he takes office, citing the long-standing DOJ policy that sitting presidents can’t be prosecuted.”
“And there was some thought that maybe Jack Smith was going to sprint through the finish line, was going to work up until the last day, force Trump to fire him, wait until a new attorney general was appointed, but that does not appear to be the thinking inside the department. The thinking is that these cases can’t go forward,” Dilanian said.
“There’s no reasonable prospect of getting to trial within the three months before Donald Trump takes office. These cases are mired in legal issues that would be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, had Donald Trump lost the election,” the reporter added.
The DOJ has determined that pursuing these cases is impractical before Trump takes office, as they would likely face lengthy appeals.
Meanwhile, Trump’s conviction in a separate New York case remains unresolved, with potential sentencing complications due to his upcoming presidency.
CNN reported, “Any sentence, of course, will be complicated by the fact that Trump is set to take office on January 20, 2025. Trump’s lawyers are likely to shape their appeals to raise constitutional issues challenging whether a state judge can sentence a president-elect, which could tie the case up in courts for years.”
Fox News correspondent David Spunt said, “Donald Trump’s legal problems have essentially all gone away since he won last night.”
