Left: Donald Trump speaks at the annual Road to Majority conference in Washington, DC, June 22, 2024 (Photo by Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP). Right: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, Friday, March, 1, 2024, in Atlanta (AP Photo/Alex Slitz, Pool).
As the federal criminal cases against Donald Trump come to a close, the only remaining prosecution of the president-elect is the state election racketeering case out of Georgia — and special counsel Jack Smith’s latest filing might help put an end to that as well.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Monday dismissed the election interference case against Trump, who was accused of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. While Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has repeatedly signaled her intention to continue prosecuting Trump — despite the fact that he will be sworn into office for the second time in January — Smith’s team formally conceding defeat likely means a similar end for Trump in the Peach State.
In his six-page motion to dismiss the election interference case against Trump, Smith cited long-standing Justice Department policy prohibiting the indictment and prosecution of a sitting president. The request was subsequently granted by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan just a few hours after the filing, meaning the charges stemming from Trump’s alleged attempt to undermine the 2020 election on Jan. 6 are over.
With the Georgia case still ongoing, Smith’s motion to dismiss will likely be heavily cited by Trump’s attorneys as they continue their efforts to get the case thrown out. Smith’s motion emphasized that the decision to drop the case had nothing to do with the merits of the charges, but ultimately concluded they were unable to move forward with charges against a sitting president.
“After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC’s [Office of Legal Counsel] prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated. 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. Based on the Department’s interpretation of the Constitution, the Government moves for dismissal without prejudice of the superseding indictment.”
The case out of Fulton County centers on similar allegations, accusing Trump and 18 others of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in the Peach State. The indictment alleges actions such as then-President Trump imploring then-Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes so that Trump would carry the battleground state and also trying to get Republican state lawmakers to appoint a different slate of college electors that would vote in Trump’s favor.
But even if Willis chooses to continue pursuing Trump, it is unlikely anything will come of it while he is situated in the White House.
Former Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Darryl Cohen told Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA that if Willis stays the course, the Supreme Court of Georgia will likely step in and end it for her.
The case has also been bogged down in missteps from prosecutors, including Willis having an “improper affair” with the special prosecutor she chose to run the case.
Trump and several other codefendants earlier this year sought to have Willis disqualified from prosecuting the case in which four individuals have already pleaded guilty.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in March ruled that either Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor with whom Willis vacationed and had a romantic relationship from 2022 to 2023, or the DA and her office had to step aside from the case in the face of a “significant appearance of impropriety.” The ruling ultimately led to Wade’s swift exit from the case.
Willis has appealed McAfee’s decision to dismiss two of the charges against Trump, but the appeals court abruptly canceled arguments on the appeal earlier this month.
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