Jack Smith seeks to dismiss accusations against Trump in D.C. election case

Washington (CBS NEWS) — Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal district court in Washington on Monday to dismiss charges against President-elect Donald Trump stemming from an alleged plot to disrupt the transfer of power after the 2020 election, ending Trump’s historic and unprecedented prosecution . the country’s 45th and 47th president.

In newly filed court documents, federal prosecutors working in Smith’s office told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that they were trying to close Trump’s case because of the Justice Department’s policy prohibiting prosecution of a sitting president.

“After careful consideration, the Department has determined that (the Office of Legal Counsel’s) prior views regarding the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting president apply to this situation and, as a result, this prosecution should be dismissed before the defendant is prosecuted. “It was opened” Smith wrote. “This prohibition is categorical and does not affect the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s evidence, or the merits of the investigation, which the government fully supports.”

Noting the historic nature of Trump’s trial and subsequent election to the presidency, the special counsel wrote: “The Department and the country have never faced the situation here, where a federal indictment against a private citizen was returned by a grand jury and a criminal.” “When the defendant is elected president, the trial is already ongoing.”

However, after consulting with the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, the special counsel stated that “the department’s position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant assumes office.”

In his six-page motion, Smith said he met with Trump’s lawyers and they did not object to his request to dismiss the case.

The judge will likely grant Smith’s request to dismiss the case and refer the four federal charges to the president-elect, after which the special counsel is expected to submit a final report to the attorney general and resign. Smith’s request was expected due to him and the Justice Department. we were in talks On how to end the investigation after Trump’s arrest elected to second term earlier this month.

Smith was special advisor appointed By Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 after Trump announced his third run for the White House. He took over two ongoing federal investigations into Trump’s conduct; One focused on his alleged mishandling of secret records, and the other was linked to the 2020 election.

After a month-long grand jury investigation, Smith A 4-article indictment was obtained A lawsuit has been filed against Trump, alleging that he tried to resist the peaceful transfer of power following Joe Biden’s election victory and was involved in a criminal scheme in the process. Trump has denied all charges and denied wrongdoing.

The indictment laid out a wide-ranging plan in which prosecutors accused Trump and Trump. his unnamed collaborators Attempting to undermine the legitimacy of election results and stop the certification of Electoral College votes in order to remain in power.

Trump’s legal team successfully delayed the case until this year after arguing that he was immune from investigation because Trump was president when the alleged conduct occurred. Chutkan and a D.C. court of appeals panel rejected Presidential immunity claim. Later, the case was put on hold after the Supreme Court took up the matter.

After all, the Supreme Court issued an important decision The case was ruled in July that presidents are immune from federal criminal prosecution for actions they took in their official capacity as president of the United States. The Supreme Court’s 6-3 opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, allowed impeachment if a president was acting in an unofficial or personal capacity.

Some of the alleged conduct included in Smith’s 2023 indictment disqualified him from the case, and he later sought special counsel. prepared a superseding indictment against Trump, with the aim of tailoring the impeachments to the Supreme Court’s decision. Embers He did not admit his guilt to the new indictment in early September.

Chutkan was in the midst of applying the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling to the case before Smith asked him to dismiss the case. in october public Smith’s important dossier provides a comprehensive look at the evidence prosecutors have collected in their case against Trump. The special counsel and his team said Trump “resorted to criminal behavior” to retain power when he lost the 2020 race.

The dossier alleges how Trump and his aides planned to object to the 2020 election results well before Election Day and pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the electoral votes. January 6, 2021.

In one striking passage, prosecutors said Trump asked “So what?” He said he replied: When word got out that Pence might be in danger at the Capitol, where Congress was meeting to count state electoral votes. A mob of Trump’s supporters entered the building, prompting the evacuation of Pence and lawmakers.

The special counsel is expected to make a similar request to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, where judges are considering whether Smith’s other lawsuit against Trump over classified documents should be revived after a Florida federal judge ruled. dismissed the case in July. Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed by Garland to the role of special counsel and, as a result, the case against Trump was invalid. The Ministry of Justice appealed the decision.

In addition to the two federal lawsuits, Trump was also charged in separate cases by local prosecutors. Fulton County, Georgia, and New York City. The New York case stemmed from hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and a jury after the 2016 election. found Trump guilty He was convicted of 34 felonies in May, becoming the first former president to be convicted of this crime.

He was scheduled to be sentenced in New York last month, but late after the election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in the sprawling Fulton County racketeering case related to an alleged effort to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.

Trump’s bid for a second term loomed over his cases as his federal cases are widely expected to be dismissed if he succeeds in winning the White House.

Now that both of Smith’s cases are moving closer to resolution, the special counsel will likely submit a final report to the attorney general, as required by his regulations, and is expected to resign Two sources familiar with Smith’s plans previously told CBS News that a statement to that effect came from his position before Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025. Garland has promised to publicly release all special counsel reports completed during his tenure. loyalty it exists confirmed so far – and will likely do the same in the Smith cases.

If the public release of Smith’s report is stalled for any reason and delayed until the Trump administration, its chances of release are increasingly slim as the president-elect has said he intends to nominate several of his top defense attorneys for the post. leadership roles Within the Ministry of Justice.

Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who defended Trump in two federal cases in New York and other matters, will serve as deputy attorney general and chief deputy attorney general, respectively, two powerful posts within the Justice Department. Trump said he would nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for attorney general.

He also selected D. John Sauer to serve as the attorney general representing the government before the Supreme Court. Sauer defended immunity case for Trump in April.

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