Smith, on Monday, filed a motion to dismiss the election interference case against Trump in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, marking a major victory for the president-elect:
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.
Moreover, Smith then filed a motion in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to dismiss an appeal in the documents case, which “will leave in place the district court’s order dismissing the indictment without prejudice as to him.” Smith cites the reasoning laid out in his motion to dismiss the election interference case:
For the reasons set forth in United States v. Trump, No. 23-cr-57, ECF No. 281 (D.D.C.) (filed Nov. 25, 2024) (moving to dismiss criminal prosecution as to defendant Trump in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia), the United States of America moves, pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 42 and Eleventh Circuit Rule 42-1, to dismiss the appeal in this case as to defendant Trump.
Taken together, the moves mark the end of the federal prosecutions against the president-elect, leaving two remaining cases at the state level in Georgia and New York.
Steven Cheung, the incoming White House communications director, touted the enormous legal victories in a statement shared with Breitbart News on Monday, shortly after Smith’s filings.
“The American People re-elected 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,” Cheung said.
“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,” he added.
Breitbart News senior legal contributor Ken Klukowski also underscored the gravity of Smith’s actions.
“This is a huge victory for President Trump and the rule of law,” said Klukowski, who filed briefs supporting President Trump on behalf of former U.S. Attorneys General Ed Meese and Michael Mukasey and also Citizens United. “Jack Smith’s appointment as Special Counsel was unconstitutional from the outset, and Smith’s surrender here is long overdue.”
The decisions by Smith and the DOJ will also have an impact in the New York business records case against Trump. Judge Juan Merchan has granted Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove a December 2 deadline to file a motion to dismiss the case.
Blanche and Bove noted in a letter to Merchan last week that they would address the positions the DOJ takes in the federal cases in their filing.
The cases are the United States v. Trump, No. 23-cr-257, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the United States v. Trump, No. 24-12311-J, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
