A federal judge has granted special counsel Jack Smith’s Monday motion to dismiss all felony charges against president-elect Donald Trump in relation to the January 6 election-interference case in Washington, D.C.
U.S. District Court judge Tanya Chutkan’s decision came hours after the prosecutor’s request was filed. The move formally ends the Justice Department’s case that alleged Trump conspired to overturn his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden — at least until the incoming president exits the White House in 2029.
In the January 6 case, Trump was accused of interfering in the 2020 election and was indicted in August 2023 on multiple charges, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
In the same motion, federal prosecutors announced they would drop their classified-documents case against the former president in Florida.
Smith petitioned Chutkan, who presided over the D.C. case, to dismiss it in accordance with the Justice Department’s policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.
“As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant, Donald J. Trump, will be inaugurated as President on January 20, 2025. It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President,” Smith said in the six-page filing.
“After careful consideration, the Department has determined that [the Office of Legal Counsel’s] prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.”
Smith asked for the D.C. case to be dismissed without prejudice, meaning Trump could still potentially be prosecuted for the same charges when he leaves office in four years.
When announcing the case last year, Smith said the January 6 Capitol riot was “fueled” by Trump’s lies and was an “unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.”
Smith is planning to quit his post at the Justice Department before Trump takes office, and he previously asked Chutkan to cancel pending proceedings, according to news reports. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, and in July, the Supreme Court ruled that the president-elect is immune to criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office.
“The Department’s position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” Smith wrote in the filing. “And although the Constitution requires dismissal in this context, consistent with the temporary nature of the immunity afforded a sitting President, it does not require dismissal with prejudice.”
“This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant,” Smith added.
In the classified-documents case, federal prosecutors announced they would drop their charges in Florida, ending another one of the pressing legal challenges formerly facing Trump. The case was already dismissed by a federal judge earlier this year, and prosecutors motioned to drop the appeal filed after the Florida judge’s ruling.
Federal prosecutors had charged Trump with illegally retaining classified documents after leaving the White House and storing the materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
In the Florida case, prosecutors referenced the same Justice Department policy used in the motion to dismiss the January 6 case against Trump.
“Dismissing the appeal as to defendant Trump will leave in place the district court’s order dismissing the indictment without prejudice as to him,” Smith wrote in the filing.