Felony charges against President-elect Trump in connection with his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the lead-up to the deadly January 6th Capitol attack have been dropped following the US election.
Special counsel Jack Smith has filed a motion writing that there was precedent to not bring an indictment or proceedings against a sitting president.
However, he stressed that the decision had been made due to the recommendations of the Justice Department rather than the strength of the case.
“The (Justice) Department’s position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” Smith wrote to Judge Tanya Chutkan in a six-page filing. “
This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant.”
“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind.”
Sky News’ US correspondent James Matthews said Trump had “played a blinder” in the aftermath of the ruling, both politically and legally.
“The delay strategy that he pursued through a grinding court process knocked his federal prosecution past the election date and when his numbers came up, he wasn’t going down.
“It is an astonishing set of circumstances, given the alleged crimes and alleged criminal.”
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