The special prosecutor, Jack Smith, recommended this Monday, November 25, the end of the prosecution against Donald Trump, in two cases – that of the retention of classified documents after his departure from the White House in 2021 and that of the illegal attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 election, on the grounds that he was now the president-elect.
Donald Trump’s campaign team immediately welcomed a “major victory for the rule of law”.
Concerning the withholding of classified documents, Jack Smith appealed the decision of federal judge Aileen Cannon in Florida, canceling the procedure in July on the grounds that the appointment of the special prosecutor in this case was unconstitutional. Jack Smith is thus complying with a policy adopted more than 50 years ago by the Department of Justice, consisting of not prosecuting a sitting president.
An “unprecedented” situation
The same goes for illegal attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 election. Although the case of a candidate criminally prosecuted and then elected president is “unprecedented,” the ministry concluded during deliberations with the special prosecutor’s office , that this policy “applies to this situation,” explains Jack Smith in his request to Judge Tanya Chutkan. But he asked the judge to end the proceedings without prejudging the course of events, which leaves open the possibility that they could be relaunched at the end of Donald Trump’s mandate.
Jack Smith had already embarked on this path by obtaining from the judge, a few days after the vote of November 5 which resulted in the victory of the Republican presidential candidate, the cancellation of all the deadlines on the calendar of this affair.
He motivated his request by the need to give the prosecution “time to analyze this unprecedented situation and determine the course of action to follow in accordance with Department of Justice policy.” Back in the White House, Donald Trump could either appoint a new Justice Minister who would fire Jack Smith or simply order his Justice Department to drop the charges against him.