Judge Tanya Chutkan has dismissed all charges against Donald Trump in his election fraud case.
On Monday, chief prosecutor Jack Smith filed a motion to drop four felony counts against Trump for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Chutkan, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., granted Smith's motion to dismiss the case hours after he filed it.
"The Government has moved to dismiss the Superseding Indictment without prejudice. Defendant does not oppose the Motion and the court will grant it," she wrote.
In his written request, Smith stated that it was Justice Department policy not to prosecute sitting presidents, a fact noted by Chutkan in her decision.
"The Government explains that it seeks dismissal pursuant to Department of Justice policy and precedent. The court will therefore grant the Government leave to dismiss this case," she wrote.
She dismissed the case "without prejudice," which means that Smith could take a new case against Trump when he leaves office.
"Dismissal without prejudice is appropriate here. When a prosecutor moves to dismiss an indictment without prejudice, 'there is a strong presumption in favor' of that course," Chutkan wrote, quoting from the 2011 case of United States v. Florian.
She wrote that a court may override the presumption only when dismissal without prejudice would result in harassment of the defendant or was against public interest.
"As already noted, there is no indication of prosecutorial harassment or other impropriety underlying the Motion, and therefore no basis for overriding the presumption—and Defendant does not ask the court to do so," she wrote.
Judge Chutkan's Reasons for Dismissing the Case
She also noted that prosecutors could introduce a new case when Trump leaves office.
"Dismissal without prejudice is also consistent with the Government's understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office," Chutkan wrote, noting a 2000 Justice Department memo had ruled out the prosecution of a sitting president.
In his motion to dismiss, Smith wrote that the U.S. Constitution requires that criminal cases be dropped before a president is sworn into office.
"The Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated," he wrote. "And although the Constitution requires dismissal in this context, consistent with the temporary nature of the immunity afforded a sitting President, it does not require dismissal with prejudice."
Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's transition team and from Smith's office on Tuesday.
On Monday, Smith also dropped an appeal to Judge Aileen Cannon's dismissal of the president-elect's classified documents case.
Smith left the appeal intact for charges against his co-defendants, Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira.
Trump was facing 40 federal charges over his handling of sensitive materials retrieved from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House in January 2021. He was accused of obstructing efforts by federal authorities to return them. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Nauta and De Oliveira are accused of moving boxes of sensitive materials around Trump's Florida home to prevent federal agents from finding them and conspiring to delete security footage that had been sought under a subpoena.
Nauta and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them, including conspiracy to obstruct justice. Newsweek contacted Nauta's lawyers for comment via email on Tuesday.
Charges against Nauta and De Oliveira likely will not be pursued when Trump returns to office, as his nominee for U.S. attorney general, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, will control the DOJ. Smith is also expected to resign as special counsel before Trump takes office.
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