Special Counsel Jack Smith on Monday announced he is dismissing his biggest case against Donald Trump, the criminal indictment related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Smith dismissed the case with 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.
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.
