Special counsel Jack Smith filed a motion Friday to overturn all deadlines in the 2020 election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., a move that was widely expected but falls short of completely drop the charges against him.
Smith’s filing was widely anticipated after Trump was elected to a second term and is consistent with the Justice Department’s long-standing policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president.
Although the case has not been officially dropped, it appears to be moving in that direction. Smith said Friday that his team plans to provide an updated report on the official status of the case against Trump on Dec. 2.
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Donald Trump and Jack Smith (Getty Images)
The news is likely a welcome relief for Trump, who has promised to fire Smith “within two seconds” if he is re-elected, ridding him of both a year-old legal foe and the criminal charges Trump has been facing faced after his defeat in the 2020 elections.
Smith was tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate both alleged efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s retention of allegedly classified documents at his residence in Florida after leaving the White House in 2022. 2020.
Fox News reported earlier this week that the Justice Department was seeking to end its criminal prosecution of Trump in Washington and Florida, citing a memo from the Office of Legal Counsel that states it is against department policy. Department of Justice to investigate a sitting president for the federal election. criminal charges and constitutes a violation of the doctrine of separation of powers.
Smith had indicted Trump in Washington earlier this year on charges stemming from the former president’s alleged efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election.
He also filed a complaint against Trump in Florida over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump raises his fist during a campaign rally at Santander Arena on November 4, 2024, in Reading, Pennsylvania. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Former Attorney General Bill Barr told Fox News Digital earlier this week that Smith should immediately end federal cases in Washington and Florida, citing DOJ policy.
With Trump still facing charges following convictions in Georgia and New York, Barr said this week that local prosecutors and judges need to abandon the “spectacle” of sue the president-elect.
“Further maneuvering on these matters in the coming weeks would serve no legitimate purpose and would only distract the country and the new administration from the task at hand,” Barr said.
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Next week, the judge presiding over the New York case is expected to announce whether the state will pursue felony conviction proceedings against Trump in the final months before he took office, or whether it will enforce claims of presidential immunity expanded by the Supreme Court earlier this year. year.
