WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed a motion to dismiss the case of election obstruction against President-elect Donald Trump. The case would be dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled later, once Trump is out of office, The Washington Post reported.
However, the Post reported that Trump could pardon himself to close the legal loop, according to legal experts.
“The (Justice) Department’s position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” Smith wrote, CNN reported. “This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant.”
In a separate filing, Smith has asked to remove Trump is also being dropped as a co-defendant in the classified documents appeal case, which U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed over the summer. She agreed with Trump’s attorneys that Smith was unlawfully appointed. Smith appealed her ruling. the case against co-defendants Carlos De Oliveria and Waltine “Walt” Nauta remained on the appeal case filed by Smith, The Washington Post reported.
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as the special counsel on Nov. 18, 2022. Trump has picked his replacement for Garland, former Florida Attorney General and loyalist Pam Bondi, The Associated Press reported.
Trump was indicted on four felony counts in August 2023 in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, NBC News reported. The case never went to trial.
The move should not come as a surprise as Smith had been taking steps to close the case he filed against Trump once the former president won his reelection campaign, Fox News reported.
The Department of Justice has had the long-time policy that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted for crimes. The Supreme Court expanded it to include not prosecuting former presidents out of office when the alleged crimes were part of their official duty.
Smith had planned to step down after Trump’s win, The New York Times reported on Nov. 13. At the time the newspaper said, “Smith’s office is still drawing up its plan on how to end the cases.”
He had until Dec. 2 to do so, according to the newspaper.
Trump also had plans to fire not only Smith but also the rest of the team that worked with the special prosecutor to bring the cases against the former president, The Washington Post reported last week, citing unnamed sources.
Typically career attorneys are not targeted for political retribution.
When asked about his plans, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump campaigned on firing rogue bureaucrats who have engaged in the illegal weaponization of our American justice system, and the American people can expect he will deliver on that promise,” the newspaper reported. “One of the many reasons that President Trump won the election in a landslide is Americans are sick and tired of seeing their tax dollars spent on targeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s political enemies rather than going after real violent criminals in our streets.”
But after the Post’s reporting, Leavitt released a second statement which read, “President Trump and his transition team speaks for him, and anonymous sources not affiliated with him have no idea what they are talking about.”
Smith will have to issue a report summarizing the investigation and decisions made, the Times reported. Garland in the past indicated he would make the report, which is produced for the attorney general, public with some redactions.
Check back for more on this developing story.