Judge agrees to dismiss Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case
Special counsel Jack Smith filed to drop all charges against Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday filed motions to drop all federal charges against President-elect Donald Trump regarding his mishandling of classified documents and his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the lead-up to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S Capitol.
Hours later, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted Smith's motion to dismiss the Jan. 6-related indictment, formally bringing to an end the case that alleged Trump unlawfully conspired to overturn his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
Trump was first indicted in June 2023 in a federal court in Miami on 37 felony counts related to mishandling classified documents that he took from the White House to his Florida home. They included willful retention of national defense information, making false statements, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. A Florida judge dismissed the case, but Smith's office had sought an appeal.
Trump was separately indicted on four felonies in August 2023 for his attempt to reverse the 2020 election results: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to announce the indictment of former President Donald Trump during a press conference on Aug. 1, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Ricky Carioti/ / The Washington Post / Getty ImagesThe case was then put on hold for months as Trump’s team argued that the case should be thrown out for multiple reasons, including that a former president cannot be prosecuted for his actions in office.
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