Special prosecutor drops two Trump prosecutions

"The Department of Justice's view is that the Constitution prohibits federal prosecution of a sitting president. Therefore, this case must be dismissed before the defendant takes office," special prosecutor Jack Smith wrote on November 25 in a filing with federal judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, DC, referring to the prosecution of Donald Trump for plotting to overturn the 2020 election.

Mr Trump has been elected president for a second term, and is scheduled to take office on January 20, 2025. Mr Smith added that "the position on the substance of the prosecution has not changed, only the context has changed".

Judge Chutkan granted the motion the same day. However, she added that "the immunity afforded to a sitting president is temporary and will expire when they leave office." This means the case could be revived after Mr. Trump's second term ends.

On November 25, Mr. Smith also dropped his appeal of the decision by federal judge Aileen Cannon in July to dismiss the case against Mr. Trump for mishandling classified documents in Florida. However, the special prosecutor will still pursue the effort to target two other defendants involved, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr Trump, described it as a "major victory for the rule of law". "The American people and Mr Trump want an immediate end to the weaponisation of the justice system and we look forward to uniting the country," Mr Cheung said.

In a post on social media network Truth Social, Mr Trump said the lawsuits were "baseless, lawless and should never have been filed".

“Over $100 million in taxpayer money has been wasted on the Democrats’ effort to target their political opponent, me,” Trump wrote. “Our country has never seen anything like it.”

Special Counsel Smith was appointed by US Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to lead two investigations related to alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and illegal retention of classified documents. Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized these as "witch hunts".

Smith filed a four-count indictment in August 2023 in his initial investigation. The Supreme Court ruled in July that Trump had immunity from official conduct while in office. Smith later amended the indictment, narrowing the charges to match the Supreme Court ruling.

The second investigation concerns government documents seized by the FBI during a raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in August 2022. Trump was indicted in June 2023 on 40 charges.

Judge Cannon ruled in July that Smith had been “improperly appointed” and did not have the authority to bring charges. Smith then filed a motion to reopen the case against Trump in a federal appeals court.

Mr. Trump also faces two other state-level prosecutions: falsifying business records to pay to suppress unfavorable information during the 2016 election in New York and conspiring to overturn the election results in the state of Georgia.

Mr. Trump was found guilty by a jury in New York in late May on all 34 counts. Manhattan criminal judge Juan Merchan on November 22 indefinitely postponed the sentencing and allowed Mr. Trump’s side to file a request to have the conviction overturned by December 2.

The Georgia prosecution is currently at a standstill, with prosecutor Fani Willis accused of having an affair with a prosecutor in her office. Trump and the defendants have asked Judge Scott McAfee to remove Willis from the case because of a “conflict of interest.” The judge is expected to rule on the matter in early 2025.