Special counsel Jack Smith moves to dismiss Trump's D.C. prosecution
Special counsel Jack Smith makes a statement from his office in Washington on June 9, 2023. (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post)
Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday sought permission from U.S. courts to abandon the two federal cases against President-elect Donald Trump, likely putting an end to two lengthy and historic investigations that never made it to trial.
Smith asked U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to dismiss the federal election interference charges brought in D.C., saying that he “stands fully behind” the allegations in the indictment but adding that Justice Department guidelines made clear he could not prosecute a sitting president.
An hour later, Smith filed a separate motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, asking to drop Trump as a co-defendant from the special counsel’s appeal of a ruling in the classified-documents case. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon dismissed that indictment this summer, breaking with legal precedent to agree with Trump’s lawyers that Smith was unlawfully appointed.
Trump was accused in the case of hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his home and private club; he and co-defendants, Carlos De Oliveira and Waltine “Walt” Nauta are accused of trying to obstruct government efforts to retrieve the material.
Smith asked the appeals court to remove Trump from the case but keep his co-defendants, which could allow the appeal to continue after Trump returns to the White House.
In D.C., Smith’s motion seeks to dismiss Trump’s election-obstruction case without prejudice. If she does that, it leaves open the possibility that prosecutors could again bring charges once Trump leaves office after his second White House term.
But legal experts said it’s possible that once Trump is in office, he could try to do something that has never been tested before: pardon himself to foreclose the possibility of legal jeopardy in the future.
Trump faces four counts related to conspiring to obstruct the 2020 election results. Smith’s filing acknowledges that the Justice Department has longed believed a sitting president cannot stand trial, and says prosecutors conferred with Trump’s attorneys and that they did not oppose the request to dismiss the case.
“That prohibition is categorical and 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,” the filing states. “Based on the Department’s interpretation of the Constitution, the Government moves for dismissal without prejudice of the superseding indictment.”
The unprecedented case—which accuses Trump of pressuring state officials to change election results and denying the American people their right to have their votes respected—hit obstacle after obstacle since the August 2023 indictment.
Trump’s legal team filed a host of challenges, freezing the proceedings for months and eventually winning a broad ruling from the Supreme Court that greatly expanded the legal immunity offered to ex-presidents for actions taken while they were in office.
