Election Night 2024 marked a first in the United States' 248-year history when Donald Trump became the first candidate to win a presidential race despite having faced four separate criminal indictments — one of which (Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.'s hush money/falsified business records case) found Trump being convicted on 34 criminal counts that he has yet to be sentenced for.
On Monday, November 25, special counsel Jack Smith made a motion to dismiss his federal election interference case against Trump — citing the U.S. Department of Justice's longstanding policy against criminally prosecuting a sitting president. Judge Tanya Chutkan, assigned to the case, granted Smith's motion.
Smith's other case against Trump, the classified documents case, was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee. Smith appealed Cannon's ruling, but on November 25, he motioned to withdraw his appeal.
Thus, Smith's two cases against Trump have met their demise.
Meanwhile, in Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis' sweeping election interference/RICO case against Trump has been in limbo. And according to Law & Crime reporter Jerry Lambe, Trump's legal team will probably use Smith's terminated cases to argue that Willis' should also be terminated.
In an article published on November 26, Lambe reports, "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... 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."
Meanwhile, in Arizona, Democratic State Attorney General Kris Mayes has been prosecuting an election interference case against some of Trump's MAGA allies — although Trump himself hasn't been indicted.
"With the Georgia case still ongoing," Lambe explains, "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."