As news of President-elect Donald Trump winning the 2024 presidential election spread, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and special counsel Jack Smith announced that they are ending their federal cases.
While it was assumed that the cases against him would be dropped having won the election, what surprised many was that the DOJ decided to end their persecution now instead of waiting until he took office in Jan. 2025.
“What’s interesting here is that the DOJ is moving to end them even before he takes office, citing the longstanding DOJ policy that sitting presidents can’t be prosecuted,” said MSNBC correspondent Ken Dilanian.
JUST IN: The Department of Justice and Jack Smith immediately end their cases against Donald Trump.
The DOJ cited their policy that presidents can’t be prosecuted however it was assumed they would work up until the “last day.”
“What’s interesting here is that the DOJ is moving… pic.twitter.com/TzOKIxSgcF
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 6, 2024
“And there were some thought that maybe special counsel Jack Smith was going to sprint through the finish line, was going to work up until the last day, force Trump to fire him, wait till a new Attorney General was appointed. But that does not appear to be the thinking inside the department. The thinking is that these cases can’t go forward.”
Dilanian noted that since Trump won and will be the next U.S. president, there “is no room to move,” especially with limited time to go to trial.
The MSNBC correspondent expressed frustration that Trump would not likely be “held accountable,” citing that many believe that his actions were worse than those of former President Richard Nixon during Watergate.
The news of the dismissal follows former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr encouraging the DOJ to drop the charges, citing the voter’s determining their verdict.
“The American people have rendered their verdict on President Trump, and decisively chosen him to lead the country for the next four years,” he said in an interview with Fox News.
“They did that with full knowledge of the claims against him by prosecutors around the country and I think Attorney General Garland and the state prosecutors should respect the people’s decision and dismiss the cases against President Trump now.”
Trump faced charges relating to his alleged involvement in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election and retaining classified documents after leaving office.
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