U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed federal election charges this week against President-elect Donald Trump after special counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to drop the case.
Chutkan ordered the case be dismissed without prejudice and explained that “when a prosecutor moves to dismiss an indictment without prejudice, ‘there is a strong presumption in favor’ of that course.”
“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,” she added.
Smith had charged Trump with four felonies related to the 2020 election, specifically on Trump’s actions after the election and before Congress certified the results on January 7, 2021. In August last year, Trump was indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an…
