Special Counsel Jack Smith is moving to dismiss the case against Trump because of the Justice Department’s policy that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted.
From Mr. Smith’s filing:
As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, Defendant Donald J. Trump.will become president on January 20, 2025. It is the long-standing position of the Department of Justice that the U.S. Constitution prohibits federal indictments and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting president. However, the department and the country have never faced a situation where a federal indictment against a civilian was returned by a grand jury and criminal prosecution had already begun by the time the defendant was elected president. Ta.
Faced with this unprecedented situation, the Office of the Special Counsel consulted with the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), whose interpretation of constitutional issues such as those raised here is binding on the Department’s prosecutors. It is. After careful consideration, the Department concludes that the OLC’s previous opinion regarding the constitutional prohibition on federal prosecution and prosecution of a sitting president applies to this situation and, as a result, this charge must be dismissed before the defendant takes office. I decided that. .
This is the expected result. Trump is an example of what money and political power can do to the justice system. All the lawyers who appeared on cable news and social media to say that the rule of law would protect Mr. Trump and that justice would be done were 100% wrong.
Their belief in the rule of law was religious and misguided.
The rule of law is influenced by money and power, and the case against Trump is bound to disappear as soon as it becomes clear that he will be the nominee. When Republicans ignored the rule of law, the door was open for President Trump to be granted immunity from all charges, but since presidents are essentially immune from all charges, this country will never find itself in this situation again. Probably not.
Trump not only got away with it, he permanently changed presidential privilege.
