[NEWS] Judge grants doj's request to dismiss Trump's jan. 6th charges

[BrasSmonkey]

The judge overseeing Donald Trump's election interference case dismissed the case Monday, after special counsel Jack Smith asked the judge to toss the case due to a long-standing Justice Department policy that bars the prosecution of a sitting president.

Smith earlier Monday filed a motion to dismiss the case, as well as the appeal of Trump's classified documents case, ahead of Trump's impending inauguration, due to the DOJ's presidential immunity policy and not because the charges lacked merit.

Smith also asked the judge in Trump's classified documents case that his appeal against Trump's two co-defendants in that case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, be allowed to continue.

MORE: Trump's trials: Prosecutors wind down federal cases as state cases could be placed on hold

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed the election interference charges against Trump without prejudice, leaving open the highly unlikely possibility of a future prosecution.

In a two-page opinion, Judge Chutkan wrote that dismissing the case without prejudice is "appropriate" and would not harm the "public interest," agreeing with Smith's argument that Trump's immunity would not cover him when he 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.

However, it's extremely unlikely that any prosecutor would attempt to bring the same charges in the future, in part because the statute of limitations for the alleged crimes will have expired by the time Trump leaves office in four years.

Trump's lawyers did not oppose the government's motion to dismiss the case without prejudice.

"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," Smith stated in his motion to dismiss.

"The country have never faced the circumstance here, where a federal indictment against a private citizen has been returned by a grand jury and a criminal prosecution is already underway when the defendant is elected President," the motion said. "After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC's 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."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/special-coun ... 00678.html

[TheButcher]

I suppose he would not have had Harris won

[jag]

So will he restart the case after Trump leaves office in January 2029?

[shoopa]

He made the right call.