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Breaking Report: Jack Smith and His Cases Against Trump Are Headed for the Exit

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The Department of Justice will reportedly be shutting down special counsel Jack Smith’s two federal criminal cases he has brought against now-President-elect Donald Trump.

Smith charged Trump with obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy against rights in his 2020 election interference case that he filed in Washington, D.C.

However, the Supreme Court ruled in July that presidents have immunity for official acts taken while in office. The decision required Smith to redo his indictment and pushed a potential trial until after the election.

And in Florida, Smith indicted Trump for allegedly retaining classified documents containing national defense information, as well as obstruction and making false statements.

However, Judge Aileen Cannon ruled in July that the DOJ’s appointment of Smith as special counsel was unconstitutional, concluding the move needed congressional approval. The DOJ has appealed the case to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

NBC News justice correspondent Ken Dilanian reported on Wednesday, “It’s not a surprise that these cases can’t go forward when Donald Trump takes office. What’s interesting here is that the DOJ is moving to end them even before he takes office, citing the long-standing DOJ policy that sitting presidents can’t be prosecuted.

“And there was some thought that maybe 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 until 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 further explained.

“There’s no reasonable prospect of getting to trial within the three months before Donald Trump takes office. These cases are mired in legal issues that would be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, had Donald Trump lost the election,” the reporter said.

Were Jack Smith’s prosecutions politically motivated?

Given Trump’s win, the DOJ has determined the “sensible thing to do is figure out a way to wind them down.”

Dilanian said the way the cases could culminate is by Trump’s attorneys filing motions to the courts noting the election result and the DOJ’s policy of not prosecuting presidents.

In a memo published in 2000, the DOJ concluded that the prosecution of a sitting president would “unduly interfere in a direct or formal sense with the conduct of the presidency.”

The department determined that impeachment and removal from office is the remedy for presidents believed to have engaged in wrongdoing. After removal, a former president could then be criminally prosecuted.

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Though Trump’s federal cases look poised to go away, his conviction in the New York business records case is still outstanding.

CNN reported that Judge Juan Merchan set a deadline of Nov. 12 to decide whether the Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity decision so impacted the evidence presented at trial that the conviction should be dismissed.

Merchan could decide to move ahead with sentencing, including imposing jail time, but Trump’s attorneys would move for the sentence to be delayed pending appeals to higher state courts and could take the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

CNN noted, “Any sentence, of course, will be complicated by the fact that Trump is set to take office on January 20, 2025. Trump’s lawyers are likely to shape their appeals to raise constitutional issues challenging whether a state judge can sentence a president-elect, which could tie the case up in courts for years.”

Fox News correspondent David Spunt summarized on Wednesday, “Donald Trump’s legal problems have essentially all gone away since he won last night.”

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 3,000 articles for The Western Journal since he began with the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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