A federal judge on Monday dropped the charges against President-elect Donald Trump for election interference and mishandling classified documents. Special counsel Jack Smith requested the dismissal of all charges against Trumpt, writing in his request,
the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.
Steven Chung, communications director for Trump, posted on X: “Today’s decision by the DOJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump, and is a major victory for the rule of law. The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.”
In 2022, three days after Trump announced his intention to run for president in 2024, Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith to lead two “independent investigations”—one related to Trump’s alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 events, the other to his alleged mishandling of documents.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) can appoint a special or independent counsel when it identifies a potential conflict of interest should the DOJ itself investigate and prosecute a case. Jack Smith’s prosecution has been seen as anything but independent by a large swath of Americans, Trump supporters or not.
Some Democrat voters who supported Trump in the election quoted establishment Democratic Party ‘lawfare’ against him as their reason for switching parties. Fox News commentator Andrew McCarthy wrote, two days after the election, that “Voters were clearly disturbed by the Democrats’ practice of using law-enforcement and judicial processes as a weapon against their chief political adversary. “
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton did not mince words after the news came out Monday, calling the cases “a dark chapter of weaponization,” while former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich referred to the cases as “two politically inspired witch hunts” and requested an account of how much the investigations had cost the country.
The President-elect himself said on TruthSocial,
These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and sound never have been brought. Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME.
While Trump is now deemed innocent of the dismissed charges, former Rep. Matt Gaetz pointed out that special counsel Smith would not have dropped the charges if Trump had lost the election. “Enjoy the victory, President Trump,” Gaetz said, “but the rest of us have to do all we can to ensure no one is ever put in this type of situation again.”
It is also worth noting that the charges were dropped “without prejudice”—meaning they could be refiled once Trump leaves the presidency.
