Special Counsel Jack Smith's legal move to dismiss the cases against Donald Trump takes the possibility away from Trump's new attorney general to "mischaracterize" the reason behind the dismissals, legal analyst Barbara McQuade said.
In an opinion piece on Tuesday, McQuade said that Smith's move to ask for the election subversion case and the classified documents case in Florida to be dismissed "could be an effort to keep the cases alive in the long term."
On Monday, Smith moved in a filing to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan for the dismissal of the election subversion indictment against Trump without prejudice. Chutkan then dismissed the case. Legal analysts said "without prejudice" means the case could be retried in the future.
Smith also moved to have Trump's classified documents case in Florida dismissed, according to the Associated Press. An appeals court later granted Smith's request.
Newsweek has reached out to the Trump transition team via email Tuesday night.
McQuade continued about Smith in her opinion piece, saying: "In addition, by filing his motions pre-emptively, Smith was able to explain his reasons for dismissing the case, rather than allowing Trump's future AG to mischaracterize them. According to Smith, he was dismissing the case not because of the merits or strength of the cases, but because he had to."
McQuade added that Smith doing this "on his own terms" also blocks Trump's attorney general from dismissing the cases forever.
Concluding, McQuade said, "It may be that a future attorney general, whether serving in a Democratic or Republican administration, will lack the appetite to resuscitate the cases against Trump in 2029. But Smith has done all he can to preserve that possibility."
Trump first nominated then-congressman Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, to be his Attorney General but was met with backlash as Gaetz was under investigation by the Ethics Committee. Gaetz resigned from Congress effective immediately after Trump made his announcement, but then Gaetz withdrew his name, claiming he dropped out because he had become "a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition."
Trump then nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in his place. Bondi has to get confirmed by the Senate in order to formally become U.S. attorney general.
Gaetz later reacted to the news of Bondi's nomination calling her a "stellar selection" by Trump and noting their time together in Florida politics. "She's a proven litigator, an inspiring leader and a champion for all Americans. She will bring the needed reforms to DOJ," Gaetz said on X, formerly Twitter.
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