By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors on Monday asked a U.S. judge to drop the criminal case accusing newly elected President Donald Trump of seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat, citing his impending return to the presidency after his successful campaign in 2024.
Prosecutors working with Special Counsel Jack Smith cited the U.S. Department of Justice’s long-standing policy that sitting presidents should not face criminal charges.
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The move represents a notable shift from the special counsel who secured indictments against Trump in two separate cases accusing him of crimes that threatened U.S. election integrity and national security.
It shows how Trump’s election victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris was not only a political triumph, but also a legal one.
Trump pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to four federal charges accusing the Republican of conspiring to obstruct vote collection and certification following his 2020 defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump, who will again oversee the Justice Department as president, was expected to order an end to the 2020 federal election case and an effort by Smith to revive a second case in which Trump was accused of illegally withholding classified documents after leaving office in 2021.
The Justice Department policy, which dates back to the 1970s, states that criminal prosecution of a sitting president would violate the U.S. Constitution by undermining the functioning of the country’s president.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan will still have to approve prosecutors’ request.
Trump’s lawyers had previously said they would seek to dismiss the charges based on a July ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for official actions taken in the White House.
Smith tried to salvage the case after the Supreme Court ruling, dropping some charges but arguing that the rest did not fall under presidential immunity and could go to trial.
Chutkan should have decided whether the immunity decision required other parts of the case to be dismissed. A trial date had not been set.
The case was brought following a Smith-led investigation into Trump’s efforts to cling to power following his 2020 election defeat, culminating in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters following a fiery speech from Trump. near the White House.
Trump denied wrongdoing and argued that the US justice system had turned against him to harm his presidential campaign. He promised during the campaign that he would fire Smith if he returned to the presidency.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward. Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis)
