Special counsel moves to drop election interference, classified documents lawsuits against Trump | News, Sports, Jobs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith moved Monday to quash two criminal cases against Donald Trump, saying Trump’s return to the White House would make him federally prosecuted for withholding classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. He agreed that he would block attempts at prosecution.

The decision was inevitable because the Justice Department’s longstanding policy stipulates that sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. But it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in the history of politics and law enforcement, as federal authorities sought to hold accountable a former president who was simultaneously running for another term.

Trump unequivocally emerged victorious, successfully delaying investigations through legal maneuvers and being re-elected despite indictments describing his actions as a threat to the country’s constitutional foundations.

“Despite everything, I resisted and WON” Trump boasted about his post on the social media site Truth Social.

He also said this “These lawsuits, like the others I have had to do, are futile and unlawful and should never have been filed.”

The judge in the election case accepted prosecutors’ request for dismissal. The verdict in the documents case was still awaited Monday evening.

The outcome makes clear that nothing can replace the voter’s own judgment when it comes to a president and criminal charges. Smith’s team emphasized in court filings that the move to end the prosecutions was not a reflection of the merits of the cases, but a recognition of the legal shield surrounding any commander in chief.

“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.” Prosecutors said in one of their filings.

They wrote about Trump’s return to the White House “It pits two fundamental and compelling national interests against each other: On the one hand, the Constitution requires that the President not be unduly hindered in the discharge of his burdensome responsibilities. . . and, on the other, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law.”

In this situation, “The Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant takes office.” They concluded.

Smith’s team said the charges against the two defendants in the classified documents case – Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira – remain intact because “No principle of temporary immunity applies to these.”

Steven Cheung, Trump’s new White House communications director, said Americans: “We demand an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and look forward to uniting our country.”

Trump has long said the investigations were politically motivated and vowed in January to fire Smith as soon as he took office. He will now begin his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government he will lead.

The election lawsuit, filed last year, was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats Trump faced as he tried to retake the White House. He was accused of conspiring to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden; This effort culminated in his supporters’ violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

But the case quickly stalled amid a legal battle over Trump’s claims of immunity from prosecution for his actions at the White House.

The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad investigative immunity and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine what, if any, allegations in the indictment can be prosecuted.

In the weeks before this year’s election, the case was starting to regain momentum in the trial court. Smith’s team filed a lengthy brief in October laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial. “Recourse to crimes” After losing to Biden, he is in an increasingly desperate bid to overturn the will of the voters.

Chutkan dismissed the case and accepted prosecutors’ request “unprejudiced” It raises the possibility that they may try to bring charges against Trump once his term ends. He wrote so “It is consistent with the government’s understanding that the immunity granted to a sitting President is temporary and will terminate when he leaves office.”

However, such a move may be blocked by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also seek to pardon himself while in office.

A separate lawsuit over classified documents was widely viewed as a legally clear case, particularly because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost his presidential powers.

The indictment included dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding secret records of his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to retrieve them. He pleaded not guilty and denied the crime.

The case was quickly complicated by delays as U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slowed to issue rulings supporting Trump’s strategy of delaying deadlines in all criminal cases while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts say other judges would have abandoned without. hearings.

In May, he indefinitely canceled the trial date due to a series of unresolved legal issues, and two months later dismissed the case altogether. Smith’s team appealed the decision but has now abandoned that effort.

While running for president, Trump faced two more state lawsuits. One of them, a New York case involving hush money payments, resulted in a felony conviction for falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president was found guilty of a crime.

Sentencing in that case is pending as Trump’s lawyers tried to get the conviction thrown out before Trump took office, arguing that keeping the order in place would interfere with his presidential transition and duties.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office opposes impeachment but has said it would be open to a stay of sentencing until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, said the solution must balance the obligations of the presidency. “The sanctity of the jury verdict.”

Trump was also charged in Georgia, along with 18 others, with participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there.

It seems unlikely that any hearings will be held there as long as Trump is in office. The prosecution had already been put on hold after the appeals court agreed to review whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from office because of her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she hired to prosecute the case.

The four defendants pleaded guilty after reaching an agreement with prosecutors. Trump and others have pleaded not guilty.