Jack Smith files motion to dismiss Jan. 6 lawsuit against Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration

Special Adviser Jack Smith A federal judge on Monday asked to dismiss four charges against President-elect Donald Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election before his January 20 inauguration. Smith cited a longstanding Justice Department policy to shield presidents from prosecution while in office in moving the proposal. In court papers. The Justice Department’s position “is that the Constitution requires that the case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” the attorneys said.
“It has long been the Justice Department’s position that the United States Constitution prohibits federal impeachment and subsequent criminal prosecution of the President,” Smith’s team wrote in a filing.
Donald Trump reacted to the legal victory and called for an immediate end to the weaponization of the justice system. “The American people re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate to make America great again. Today’s decision by the DoJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump, and is a major victory for the rule of law. The American people and President Trump we stand against the political weaponization of our justice system. We want an immediate end and we look forward to uniting the country,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director.
The decision was expected after how Smith’s team began evaluating both the 2020 election interference case and separate classified documents cases following Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. The Justice Department believes Trump can no longer be prosecuted in line with a longstanding policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
The 2020 election case brought last year was once seen as the most serious legal threat facing Republicans as they try to reclaim the White House. But that quickly stalled amid a legal battle over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House.
The US The Supreme Court ruled for the first time in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to US District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine what, if any, charges in the indictment could proceed to trial.
The trial court case resumed in the week before the November 4 election. In October, Smith’s team filed a lengthy brief to present new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of using “recourse crimes” in an increasingly desperate attempt to sway voters after losing to President Joe Biden. was
(with agency inputs)