Trump’s Most Damning Criminal Indictment Finally Ends With a Whimper
A federal judge on Monday granted special counsel Jack Smith’s request to dismiss the biggest case against Donald Trump, the criminal indictment related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Smith had asked the judge to dismiss the case without prejudice, which means it could be reopened once Trump leaves office in four years. But for now, Trump is getting away without facing justice for his attempts to overthrow democracy. “After careful consideration, the Department has determined that [the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel’s] prior opinions concerning 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,” Smith wrote in his motion to dismiss.“For the reasons set forth in the accompanying Opinion, ECF No. 282, the Government’s Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 281, is hereby GRANTED, and the Superseding Indictment, ECF No. 226, is hereby DISMISSED without prejudice,” Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote in a one-page order shortly after Smith’s motion.Smith’s announcement on Monday comes after Trump’s sentencing for felony charges—based on his 2016 hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels—was indefinitely postponed last week. The other two cases against him—one for election interference in Georgia and another for mishandling classified documents—have also been indefinitely delayed This story has been updated.* This piece has been clarified to note the nature in which Smith dismissed the case.
A federal judge on Monday granted special counsel Jack Smith’s request to dismiss the biggest case against Donald Trump, the criminal indictment related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Smith had asked the judge to dismiss the case without prejudice, which means it could be reopened once Trump leaves office in four years. But for now, Trump is getting away without facing justice for his attempts to overthrow democracy.
“After careful consideration, the Department has determined that [the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel’s] prior opinions concerning 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,” Smith wrote in his motion to dismiss.
“For the reasons set forth in the accompanying Opinion, ECF No. 282, the Government’s Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 281, is hereby GRANTED, and the Superseding Indictment, ECF No. 226, is hereby DISMISSED without prejudice,” Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote in a one-page order shortly after Smith’s motion.
Smith’s announcement on Monday comes after Trump’s sentencing for felony charges—based on his 2016 hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels—was indefinitely postponed last week. The other two cases against him—one for election interference in Georgia and another for mishandling classified documents—have also been indefinitely delayed
This story has been updated.
* This piece has been clarified to note the nature in which Smith dismissed the case.
