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Judge Drops 2020 Election Charges Against Trump At Prosecutor’s Request
A federal judge has dismissed a high-profile case against former President Donald Trump, which accused him of unlawfully attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.
Special prosecutor Jack Smith, who brought the criminal charges, requested their dismissal, referencing a Justice Department policy that prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.
Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed the case “without prejudice,” allowing the possibility for the charges to be refiled after Trump concludes a second presidential term, should he serve one.
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Additionally, Smith has moved to dismiss a separate case accusing Trump of mishandling classified documents. Trump has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty in both cases.
“It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President,” Smith wrote in a filing in the election case.
“This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant,” Smith added in the six-page filing.
After leaving office, Donald Trump entered uncharted legal territory as the first former U.S. president to face a criminal trial, which later resulted in a conviction related to a payment made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
At the start of the year, Trump faced nearly 100 criminal charges across two federal cases and other legal matters. However, a Supreme Court decision this summer ruled that he could not be prosecuted for “official acts” carried out during his presidency. A few months later, Trump secured victory in the presidential election. Since then, nearly all charges against him have been dropped, while a Georgia state prosecution remains on hold.
In the classified documents case, special prosecutor Jack Smith has also requested a dismissal “without prejudice,” though this decision still awaits judicial approval.
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Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social that the federal cases were “empty and lawless, and should never have been brought”.
“It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds,” he wrote.
Vice-President-elect JD Vance said the prosecutions were “always political”.
“If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison,” he wrote on social media.
Donald Trump had vowed to dismiss Special Counsel Jack Smith upon taking office. Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to oversee two federal investigations into Trump’s actions, has reportedly indicated plans to step down next year.
The move to drop Trump’s election subversion case marks the conclusion of a protracted legal battle. Smith had initially refiled the charges following a Supreme Court ruling that granted Trump immunity from certain prosecutions tied to his presidential duties. In a revised indictment, Smith argued that Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election were campaign-related and therefore not protected as official acts.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit is deliberating Smith’s appeal to proceed with the classified documents case. Trump was accused of storing dozens of sensitive government files at his Mar-a-Lago resort and obstructing efforts to recover them. The case had been dismissed earlier by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, who ruled that Smith’s appointment was improper.
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After Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, Smith began winding down both cases. However, in a recent filing, he indicated that the classified documents appeal would continue for two co-defendants—Trump employees Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.
Trump’s return to the White House has also left several state-level criminal cases in limbo. In New York, sentencing for Trump’s state criminal conviction has been indefinitely delayed. In Georgia, where Trump faces election subversion charges, an appeals court is reviewing whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can remain on the case, given her prior association with a prosecutor she hired.
Legal experts, including former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, note that Trump’s new presidency effectively shields him from prosecution. “It’s well established that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted,” Rahmani explained.
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