Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal judge on Monday to dismiss the case accusing President-elect Donald Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, citing longstanding Justice Department policy shielding presidents from prosecution while in office.
The move announced in court papers marks the end of the Justice Department's landmark effort to make Trump accountable for what prosecutors claimed was a criminal conspiracy to cling to power in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
"We were looking forward for President Trump winning at trial," Trump lawyer John Lauro told Newsmax Congressional Correspondent Kilmeny Duchardt, "but the American people in this election have already decided he is innocent of these charges. This is a great day for President Trump and an even greater day for the American people.”
In court papers. prosecutors said the Justice Department's position "is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated."
The decision was expected after Smith's team began assessing how to wind down both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case in the wake of Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Justice Department concludes that Trump can no longer be tried in accordance with longstanding policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
Steven Cheung, Trump's communications director, also issued a written response:
The American People re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate to Make America Great Again. Today’s decision by the DOJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump and is 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.
The special counsel said that the Justice Department will still appeal to continue its case against co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. Nauta was Trump’s body man. De Oliveira was property manager of Mar-a-Lago. The prosecution of his co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, will continue because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.”
This report contains material from The Associated Press