Special Counsel Drops January 6 Case Against Convicted Felon Donald Trump

The Special Counsel has dropped their case charging Donald Trump with election interference related to the Jan. 6 insurrection.

On Monday (Nov. 25), Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith filed paperwork to drop felony charges against President-elect Donald Trump, which were related to election interference in 2020 that led to the events of the attack on the United States Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021. “The Department’s position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” Smith wrote in the filing before the federal courts in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia.

“This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant.” Smith moved to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning it can be filed again once Trump leaves the White House. Federal Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who oversaw the case in the nation’s capital, filed an order dismissing the proceeding shortly after.

Smith acknowledged precedent in the filing, writing that his office “faced the circumstance here, where a federal indictment against a private citizen has been returned by a grand jury and a criminal prosecution is already underway when the defendant is elected president.” The case in Florida where Trump was accused of mishandling classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, will proceed against his co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.

Smith’s filing is in conjunction with his exit from the Department of Justice at the end of the year. Trump’s highly vocal plan was to fire Smith when he took office in January. “The American People reelected 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,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement. “The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.”

Trump’s other case in New York for his role in election interference linked to hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels where he was convicted is in limbo. Prosecutors have leaned toward freezing the case for the duration of Trump’s time in the White House starting next year. The sentencing, which was set for Nov. 26, was delayed by Judge Juan Merchan.