US Justice Department files to drop Trump 2020 obstruction case in DC

The US Justice Department has moved to drop the 2020 election obstruction case against Donald Trump, asking a judge to dismiss the extraordinary federal prosecution of a former president whose reelection ensured he'd be shielded from charges in the White House.

Prosecutors under Special Counsel Jack Smith, who charged Trump with illegally conspiring to interfere with Congress' certification of his electoral loss four years ago, made the request in court on Monday.

Justice Department policy bars the prosecution of sitting presidents, forcing Smith's hand to unnwind the case. Trump, who denied wrongdoing, said he would fire Smith and order the department to close the special counsel's work if he won a second term.

Smith wrote that his office "stands fully behind" the merits of the case his office had built against the president-elect, but the department's prohibition on charging sitting presidents was "categorical."

The decision to end the case "does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government's proof, or the merits of the prosecution," he wrote.

Separate from the election probe in Washington, Smith's team also charged Trump in Florida with mishandling sensitive national security information after he left office.

Neither federal case against Trump came close to a trial. The dismissal notice on Monday represented a vindication of the legal strategy pursued by Trump's lawyers, who pushed for delays and later hearing dates at every turn as the clock ticked down to Election Day.

Trump was the first former president indicted on felony charges. He also faced two state prosecutions, and the fate of those cases remain unsettled as he prepares to return to Washington.

A New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a former adult film star who claimed to have had a sexual relationship with him. A judge has delayed sentencing in that case as he decides how to proceed. In Georgia, a prosecution over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election have been on hold amid a controversy about the lead prosecutor's personal conduct.

State prosecutors aren't bound by the same rules as the Justice Department.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel to take over the two federal investigations after Trump formally announced his campaign for president two years ago.

The classified documents case came first. A Florida grand jury indicted Trump in June 2023 on charges that he unlawfully held onto a cache of classified documents and then conspired with two associates to stymie US efforts to get those materials back. A federal judge earlier this year dismissed the case after concluding that Smith's appointment and the special counsel office's funding were unconstitutional.

The Justice Department appealed US District Judge Aileen Cannon's order. Both sides have filed briefs but a federal appellate panel hadn't scheduled arguments.

In August 2023, a grand jury in Washington returned the federal election obstruction indictment. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan had set a trial for March. But the prosecution effort became mired in a fight over whether the former president was entitled to absolute immunity from charges he argued related to official duties.

In a decision split along ideological lines, the US Supreme Court held this summer that presidents are entitled to sweeping protection from charges related to their official duties. The parties were back before a district court judge this fall to fight over the precise contours of that immunity and whether any of the indictment could survive.

The case isn't officially over until Chutkan grants the government's motion to dismiss the indictment. Judges generally have little authority to rebuff prosecutors in these types of situations, especially before there's been a trial or any factual findings. During Trump's first term, a judge ordered a review of the Justice Department's move to drop a criminal case against a Trump ally, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, but that happened after Flynn pleaded guilty. The case ended when Trump pardoned Flynn.