Legal twist: Why Trump's new win forces prosecutors to drop major election case

U.S prosecutors ask to dismiss charges against Trump due to old Justice Department rules about sitting presidents. His recent election success creates an unexpected turn in the high-profile legal battle

November 25 2024 , 07:46 PM  •  554 views

Legal twist: Why Trump's new win forces prosecutors to drop major election case

Federal prosecutors made an un-expected move on monday 11/25 asking to drop the case against Donald Trump which deals with his actions after loosing the 2020 election

The main reason for this request - a long-standing policy (from back in the 70s) that says you cant prosecute a sitting president; since Trump won the election against Kamala Harris this fall

Special counsel Jack Smithʼs team wrote in their court papers: “We dont base this decision on the caseʼs strength or meritʼs“. Trumpʼs spokesman Steven Cheung saw it different calling it a big win for law-and-order

This case started in aug/23 when Trump said he wasnt guilty to four charges about messing with vote counting after he lost to Joe Biden. The trial was set for spring but now - everything changed due to Trumps comeback win

The old Justice Department rule thinks that putting criminal charges on a president would mess-up his job as the countrys leader. Judge Tanya Chutkan still needs to say yes or no to dropping the case

Last summer the Supreme Court made things more complex with its ruling about ex-presidents having immunity for their official work. Smith tried to save some parts of the case but now with Trump heading back to office (and becoming his boss in about 2 months) the whole thing looks different

The original case came from looking into the jan/21 Capitol mess when Trump gave a hot speech near the White House before his fans went wild. He always said the legal system was out to get him and promised to fire Smith when he got back in charge