Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade believes special counsel Jack Smith's move to dismiss Donald Trump's 2020 election interference and classified documents cases on Monday "could be an effort to keep the cases alive in the long term," she writes in a Tuesday op-ed for MSNBC.
Because Smith requested that the cases be dismissed without prejudice, "the cases can be filed again," McQuade writes. "By dismissing the cases now on his own terms, Smith blocks Trump’s attorney general from dismissing the cases for all time."
Although "it may be that a future attorney general, whether serving in a Democratic or Republican administration, will lack the appetite to resuscitate the cases against Trump in 2029," the former US attorney notes, "But Smith has done all he can to preserve that possibility."
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She adds, "In addition, by filing his motions pre-emptively, Smith was able to explain his reasons for dismissing the case, rather than allowing Trump’s future AG to mischaracterize them."
The special counsel "was careful to note that this relief from criminal prosecution is 'temporary,' McQuade contends, "and ends when the president leaves office. Smith cites OLC [Office of the Legal Counsel] as concluding that this form of immunity for a sitting president “would generally result in the delay, but not the forbearance, of any criminal trial” That is, Trump gets a reprieve, but only during his term in office."
McQuade's full op-ed is available at this link.
