US unique counsel pointsout Donald Trump’s return to White House, longstanding policy not to prosecute sitting presidents.
Published On 25 Nov 2024
United States unique counsel Jack Smith has moved to dismiss 2 criminal cases implicating President-elect Donald Trump of lookingfor to reverse his 2020 election defeat and mishandling trick federalgovernment files.
In a court filing in the election disturbance case, districtattorneys on Monday mentioned Trump’s return to the White House after his effective 2024 re-election project and a longstanding Department of Justice policy not to prosecute sitting presidents.
They stated the department had reasoned that Trump’s “prosecution should be dismissed” before his inauguration on January 20 of next year.
“It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution prohibits the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President,” the filing checksout.
“That restriction is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the criminaloffenses charged, the strength of the Government’s evidence, or the benefits of the prosecution, which the Government stands completely behind,” it continues.
The relocation represents a impressive shift by the unique districtattorney, who gotten indictments versus Trump in 2 cases implicating him of criminalactivities that threatened UnitedStates election stability and nationwide security.
The latter case offers with the declared mishandling of trick federalgovernment files.
Separately on Monday, districtattorneys likewise revealed that they were dropping their appeal of a federal judge’s termination earlier this year of the categorized files case — providing another triumph to Trump and his inbound administration.
Reporting from West Palm Beach, Florida, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna stated the Justice Department’s choices were “not unforeseen” provided its longstanding policy versus prosecuting a sitting president.
But Hanna keptinmind that concerns stay over whether the federal charges can be brought up onceagain assoonas Trump is no longer in the White House. “This is something that is a genuine grey location in terms of law,” he stated.
“It is something that will be worked out in the weeks and months and perhaps even years ahead. But there is a possibility that these charges might when onceagain come up.”
‘Major success’
In the election disturbance case, Trump, a Republican, was implicated of conspiring to reverse the results of the 2020 governmental choose