On Monday, a judge granted prosecutors’ request to dismiss the election subversion case against Donald Trump, citing the Justice Department’s policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Judge Tanya Chutkan approved Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request to dismiss the case “without prejudice,” which means it could be reinstated once Trump’s term ends.Chutkan noted that “dismissal without prejudice is appropriate here,” and clarified that “the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office.”Trump, 78, had been accused of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, and of handling large quantities of classified documents after his presidency. However, these cases did not proceed to trial.On the same day, Smith also withdrew his appeal regarding the dismissal of a separate documents case against Trump in Florida, which had been tossed out earlier this year by a Trump-appointed judge who ruled Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unlawful.Following Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election, Smith paused both the election interference case and the documents case. In his motions to dismiss, he referenced the established Justice Department policy of not indicting or prosecuting a sitting president.Smith stated in his filing to Chutkan, “The Government’s position on the merits of the defendant’s prosecution has not changed. But the circumstances have.” He emphasized that “the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President,” leading to the conclusion that the prosecution must be dismissed before the inauguration.In a separate filing, Smith indicated that he would withdraw his appeal regarding the dismissal of the classified documents case against Trump, while still pursuing charges against his two co-defendants, Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira.
