The special counsel, Jack Smith, asked a federal judge in Washington on Monday to formally dismiss the indictment charging President-elect Donald J. Trump with plotting to subvert the 2020 election, bowing to the reality that Justice Department policy forbids pursuing prosecutions against sitting presidents.
The request by Mr. Smith was his final acknowledgment that after two years of courtroom drama, prosecutors will not be able to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election even as he prepares to re-enter the White House.
The department’s policy that sitting presidents may not be prosecuted “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,” Mr. Smith wrote. “Based on the department’s interpretation of the Constitution, the government moves for dismissal without prejudice of the superseding indictment.”
Even in seeking a dismissal of the case, Mr. Smith’s filing held out the possibility that the charges could be refiled again after Mr. Trump completes his term in office.
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