Federal prosecutors today decided to drop their criminal case against future President of the United States Donald Trump for illegally handling classified documents.
The same was done today with the case in which Trump is accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which he lost to Joseph Biden.
It is the policy of the Justice Department that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
In both of today’s cases, it is a predictable but still stunning end to criminal proceedings that were considered the most dangerous to Trump just a year ago.
In his court filing, Smith argued that the Department of Justice (DOJ) deemed it unconstitutional to prosecute Trump due to his upcoming inauguration. He noted that the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) had previously concluded in 1973 and 2000 that prosecuting a sitting president would violate the constitutional separation of powers, as it could impede the president’s ability to perform their duties. As a result, the special prosecutor requested the case be dismissed and appealed without prejudice.
In July, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that presidents are generally immune from prosecution for “official acts” performed while in office, a decision prompted by Trump’s challenge to federal election interference charges. The Court’s reasoning aligned with the OLC’s earlier opinions, emphasizing that the risk of prosecution after leaving office could undermine the constitutional principle of separation of powers.
Trump reacted to Smith’s actions by posting on Truth Social:
These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are 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, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
