Donald Trump criminal prosecution for alleged attempt to subvert 2020 election results dropped

US prosecutors have decided to drop the criminal prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Special counsel Jack Smith, a top prosecutor in the long-running case, asked a federal judge in Washington on Monday, local time, to formally dismiss the indictment against Mr Trump, bowing to the reality that Department of Justice policy forbids pursuing prosecutions against sitting presidents.

The request by Mr Smith was his final acknowledgement 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 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,” 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, Smith’s filing held out the possibility that the charges could be refiled again after Mr Trump completes his term in office.

But it is also possible that after he returns to the White House, Mr Trump could try to pardon himself to spare him from possible legal jeopardy in the future.

Mr Trump’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, said the decision to abandon the case represented “a win for the rule of law”.

“The American people and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponisation of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.”

The Department of Justice had charged Mr Trump in August 2023, accusing him of pressuring state officials to change election results after Joe Biden clinched victory in the 2020 presidential race.

The 78-year-old’s legal team filed numerous challenges, halting the proceedings for months and winning a broad ruling from the Supreme Court that granted the ex-president legal immunity for actions taken while they were in office.

The case was one of two criminal indictments Mr Smith brought against Mr Trump last year; the other was the attempted prosecution of the ex-president for illegally handling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort after his time in the White House.

A Floridian judge, appointed by Mr Trump, dismissed that case in July. That ruling is under appeal, and Mr Smith has until December 2 to decide if he will dismiss that case, too.

Mr Trump will return to the White House in January after a sweeping election victory earlier in November.

— with New York Times