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Special counsel Jack Smith is moving to dismiss his federal election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump over the January 6th Capitol riot.
In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Smith asks U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to throw out the case against Trump before he’s inaugurated.
Smith says there’s a long-standing Justice Department policy forbidding prosecution of a sitting president.
In the docs, Smith says … “The Government’s position on the merits of the defendant’s prosecution has not changed. But the circumstances have: as a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant will be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025. 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.”
Trump was facing four felony charges related to the insurrection, when prosecutors claim he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election and remain in office. He was indicted in August 2023 for conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
The case was put on ice for months as Trump’s legal team argued he could not be prosecuted … and now that he’s won the election, he won’t be … at least for now.
Smith is seeking to dismiss the case without prejudice … which would leave open the possibility for the case to be refiled after his term ends.