Donald Trump’s January 6 charges ‘to be dropped’ as prosecutor files motion to dismiss case against President-elect
DONALD Trump's January 6 criminal charges are set to be dropped after the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Trump was first indicted on four felony counts in 2023 and was accused of orchestrating a "criminal scheme" in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
But special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal judge to dump the case today, citing a longstanding Justice Department policy that shields presidents from prosecution while in office.
Smith's team said in a statement: "After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC’s prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated."
This marks the end of the Justice Department's landmark effort to hold Trump accountable for what prosecutors called a criminal conspiracy to cling to power in the run-up to his supporters' attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The decision was expected after Smith's team began assessing how to wind down both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case in the wake of Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump has cast both cases as politically motivated and had pleaded not guilty to all four counts.
He had also vowed to fire Smith as soon as he took office in January.
Soon after the announcement, the Trump campaign wrote in a statement: "Today's decision by the DOJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump, and is a major victory for the rule of law."
Smith also asked a judge to dismiss the classified documents case against Trump in Florida shortly after the first DOJ announcement was made in Washington, DC.
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