The special counsel Jack Smith asked two courts on Monday to effectively shut down the federal criminal cases he brought against President-elect Donald J. Trump last year, bowing to a justice department policy that says it is unconstitutional to pursue prosecutions against sitting Presidents.
The twin requests by Smith — made to judges in Washington and Atlanta — were an acknowledgment that Trump will re-enter the White House in January unburdened by federal efforts to hold him accountable through charges of plotting to subvert the last presidential election and holding on to a trove of highly classified material following his first term in office.
The double-barrelled filings were also the latest sign that Smith and his team were working to close up shop after years of intensive investigation and courthouse drama that tested the justice system’s ability to hold a once-and-future President to account amid shifting politics, misinformation and evolving legal standards.
Hours after Smith submitted his requests, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is overseeing the election interference case in Washington, issued a brief order dismissing the proceeding.
Smith’s moves came after the President-elect began filling out his choices to lead the justice department. They followed Trump’s vow on the campaign trail to fire Smith within “two seconds” of taking office and to launch investigations into the prosecutors who pursued him, along with other perceived enemies. Smith has signalled that he intends to resign before Trump takes office.
In both of the court submissions, Smith made clear that his moves to end the charges against Trump were a necessity imposed on him by legal norms, rather than a decision made on the merits of the cases or because of problems with the evidence. The filings cited a justice department policy that sitting presidents may not be prosecuted.