Judge ends 2020 election case against Trump at prosecutors’ request, World News

WASHINGTON – A U.S. judge ruled on Nov. 25 that the Justice Department should dismiss the federal criminal case accusing Donald Trump of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat after prosecutors moved to drop that prosecution and a second case against the president-elect. He refused, citing his policy against filing lawsuits. .

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s order ends the federal effort to hold Trump criminally responsible for his attempts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election, which culminated in a mob storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. supporters.

The move comes after Special Counsel Jack Smith, the attorney general overseeing both cases, moved to dismiss the election case and end an attempt to revive a separate case accusing Trump of illegally withholding classified documents when he leaves office in 2021 after his first term as president. came. .

This represents a major legal victory for the Republican president-elect, who won the November 5 US election and will return to office on January 20.

The Justice Department policy cited by prosecutors dates back to the 1970s. It rules that criminal prosecution of a sitting president would violate the U.S. Constitution by undermining the nation’s chief executive’s ability to hold office. Courts will still have to approve both requests from prosecutors.

Prosecutors in the election overturning case said department policy required the case be dismissed before Trump returned to the White House.

“This conclusion is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant,” prosecutors wrote in the case file. he wrote.

Prosecutors in the documents case have signaled they will still ask the federal appeals court to reinstate the case against two Trump staffers accused of obstructing the investigation.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung praised what he called “a major victory for the rule of law.”

Trump had faced criminal charges in four lawsuits, two filed by Mr. Smith and two in state courts in New York and Georgia. While he was convicted in the New York case, the Georgia case, which is also related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, remains unclear.

Trump called the lawsuits “the lowest point in our Country’s history” in a post on social media on Nov. 25.

The moves by Mr. Smith, who was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022, represent a significant shift from the special prosecutor who filed indictments against Trump in two separate cases accusing him of crimes that threatened the election integrity and national security of the United States. Prosecutors acknowledged that the election of a president who faces ongoing criminal cases creates an unprecedented situation for the Justice Department.

Judge Chutkan left open the possibility that prosecutors could re-indict Trump after he leaves office, but prosecutors are likely to face difficulties bringing the case so long after the conduct involved in the case occurred.

Trump pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to four federal charges accusing him of conspiring to obstruct the tallying and certification of votes following his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump, who will again oversee the Justice Department as president, was expected to order an end to the 2020 federal election case and Mr. Smith’s appeal in the documents case.

Florida-based Judge Aileen Cannon, whom Trump appointed to the federal bench, dismissed the classified documents case in July and ruled that Mr. Smith was improperly appointed to his position as special counsel.

Mr. Smith’s office had appealed that decision and said on Nov. 25 that the appeal would continue because it related to Trump’s personal aide, Walt Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira, the manager of the Mar-a-Lago resort who was previously indicted along with Trump. in case. Both Nauta and De Oliveria, like Trump, did not admit their guilt.

In the 2020 election case, Trump’s lawyers had previously said they would seek to dismiss the charges based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for official actions they took at the White House.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in all cases and argued that the US legal system was turned against him to harm his presidential campaign. During the campaign, he had promised to fire Mr. Smith if he returned to the presidency.

In May, Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime when a jury in New York found him guilty of felonies related to hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election. His sentence in this case was suspended indefinitely.

The 2020 election-related criminal case against Trump has been stayed in Georgia state court.