By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. prosecutors asked a U.S. judge on Monday to drop the criminal case accusing President-elect Donald Trump of seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat, citing his impending return to the presidency following his successful 2024 campaign.
Prosecutors working with Special Counsel Jack Smith said a longstanding U.S. Justice Department policy holding that sitting presidents should not face criminal prosecution requires the case to be dismissed before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
“This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung called the move “a major victory for the rule of law.”
The move represents a remarkable shift from the special prosecutor who obtained indictments against Trump in two separate cases accusing him of crimes that threatened U.S. election integrity and national security.
It shows how Trump’s election victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris was not just a political triumph, but also a legal one.
Trump pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to four federal charges accusing the Republican of conspiring to obstruct the collection and certification of votes following his 2020 defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump, who as president will again oversee the Justice Department, was expected to order an end to the federal 2020 election case and an attempt by Smith to revive a second case accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents after leaving office in 2021.
The Justice Department policy, dating back to the 1970s, holds that a criminal prosecution of a sitting president would violate the U.S. Constitution by undermining the ability of the country’s chief executive to function.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan will still have to approve the request from prosecutors.
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 over official actions taken while in the White House.
Smith attempted to salvage the case following the high court ruling, dropping some allegations but arguing the rest were not covered by presidential immunity and could proceed to trial.
Chutkan had been due to decide whether the immunity decision required other portions of the case to be thrown out. A trial date originally set for March 2024 had not been rescheduled.
The case was brought following a probe led by Smith into Trump’s attempts to hold onto power following his 2020 election defeat, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters following a fiery speech by Trump near the White House.
Trump denied wrongdoing and argued that the U.S. legal system had been turned against him to damage his presidential campaign. He vowed during the campaign that he would fire Smith if he returned to the presidency.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward. Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Bill Berkrot)
Comments