Judge Ends Jack Smith’s Trial on January 6

A federal judge in D.C. dismissed the lawsuit against Donald Trump on Jan. 6 after Special Counsel Jack Smith said the Justice Department had concluded that federal investigations into the president-elect could not proceed now that he had been re-elected.

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Tanya Chutkan dismissed the cases without prejudice, meaning the criminal cases could in theory be revived at a later date. But the difficulty of navigating statutes of limitations, erased memories and the Supreme Court’s immunity decision in July make it extremely unlikely that Trump will face accountability. Prosecutors, under the direction of Special Counsel Jack Smith, alleged a wide-ranging, multifaceted conspiracy to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.

But now, four years later, Trump won again. Per motion to dismissThe Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion in recent weeks that apparently expanded on its previous view that sitting presidents cannot be impeached.

In response to a request for guidance, the OLC told Smith that the policy against impeaching sitting presidents also applies to situations in which an accused person is elected to the Oval Office, according to the filing.

In a separate filing in the 11th Circuit on Monday, Smith said he would move to dismiss the ongoing appeal in the Mar-a-Lago Records case against Trump. He said he would pursue litigation against Trump’s other two defendants in the case, Walt Nauta and Carlos DeOliveira.

Judge Chutkan moved out of his way order He dismissed the lawsuit on Jan. 6, saying there was “no indication” that Smith was trying to exclude the case from a broader scheme of “prosecutorial harassment.” Chutkan was referring to another case, but he denies a phrase Trump has used for years to investigate and hold him accountable: There was no harassment in the Smith cases.

Monday’s filings marked the end of a series of surprising and strange events unparalleled in U.S. history: A criminal defendant won the presidential election, thus causing the charges against him to be dropped. This is another example of Trump’s ability to navigate the legal system. In July, the Supreme Court issued a broad immunity ruling stating that presidents cannot be criminally charged for most official conduct. Now, the OLC has issued an opinion saying not only that investigations into Trump should be dismissed because of his election, but that those investigations cannot be suspended — the charges themselves must be dismissed, according to today’s filing in the January 6 case.

Smith ended his impeachment request by saying that the Constitution required him to seek dismissal of the charges, but that the President’s immunity was “temporary in nature.” He added that the Constitution does not require “dismissal with prejudice.” He could reapply in four years, no matter how unlikely it was.