Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped the federal government's two criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, while Trump's state cases are already set to be delayed for years as he takes office, highlighting how the ex-president's legal strategy of delaying his prosecutions for as long as possible ultimately saved him from facing the majority of his criminal charges.
Trump's election was a death knell for the two federal criminal cases against him, as Smith asked the court to dismiss the two cases against Trump in light of his upcoming inauguration, and Trump's criminal case in Georgia is expected to be postponed until at least 2029 — leaving Trump's New York conviction as the only charges against him that have been holding up, though his sentencing is now on hold potentially until after he leaves office and Judge Juan Merchan is still
Federal Election Case: Trump was indicted in August 2023 for attempting to overturn the 2020 election, and while the case was originally scheduled to go to trial in March, the proceedings were halted when Trump requested that the charges be dismissed because he has presidential immunity—a request the Supreme Court granted in part in July, after the issue took seven months to play out, forcing prosecutors to retool the indictment.
After delaying the case after Election Day while he decided how to proceed—ultimately filing a new indictment—Smith moved to have the charges dropped entirely on Monday, citing Trump's election and the Justice Department's policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents, and Chutkan agreed, formally dismissing the case.
Federal Documents Case: Trump was indicted in June 2023 for allegedly withholding White House documents and obstructing the government's investigation into them, and the case was assigned to Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who had already established a reputation for being deferential to Trump during the investigation that led to his indictment.
While Cannon initially scheduled the case to go to trial in May, Trump filed a number of motions trying to drag out the case that Cannon slow-walked ruling on, with the judge eventually ruling in May to suspend the trial indefinitely while issues were still pending and then dismissing the charges entirely in July—and while the special counsel appealed Cannon's ruling, Smith asked for that appeal to be put on hold after Trump's election and then moved Monday to have the
Trump's criminal case in New York was the only one to go to trial, as he was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records based on hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels—but he successfully delayed his sentencing, which had been scheduled for July, with Merchan agreeing in September to postpone the sentencing until after the election to avoid any perception of political bias.
Merchan then paused deadlines in the case after prosecutors said they needed to evaluate how the case should move forward in light of Trump's election, and ruled Friday to postpone the sentencing while Trump tries to have the verdict thrown out on account of his election—and while it's unclear when the sentencing could be rescheduled, prosecutors said before Merchan's ruling that while they don't want the verdict to be dismissed entirely, they believe it would be fair to
Georgia Election Case: Trump and his allies were indicted in August 2023 for attempting to overturn the 2020 election, and while a trial date for Trump was not set, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis requested a trial in August—before Trump and his co-defendants asked Willis to be disqualified from the case due to her romantic relationship with lead prosecutor Nathan Wade.
While Smith dismissed the charges against Trump in the documents case, he did not dismiss the government's criminal cases against Trump staffers Walt Nauta and Carlos deOliveira, who were charged with helping Trump's attempt to conceal White House documents. However, once Trump takes office, his Justice Department will most certainly put an end to these cases. Separately, while the Georgia case is still on hold, many sources indicate that Trump's lawyers are planning to urge the court to drop the case against him entirely in the event that he becomes president, but how that would play out remains to be seen.
Will Jack Smith resign—and write a report?
Now that his cases against Trump have been resolved, Smith plans to quit before the incoming president takes office, but he is likely to submit a final report first. That report would summarize the government's two investigations against Trump, most of which has already been disclosed in court filings. Smith faces a time crunch in submitting the report because, while Attorney General Merrick Garland is likely to make it public if it is done before Trump takes office, the future Trump-controlled Justice Department will most likely keep it buried.
Will Trump's New York sentencing proceed?
Merchan's decision to postpone Trump's punishment indefinitely has left it unclear what will happen next. The judge must first rule on two applications by Trump to quash the decision against him, since the president-elect has claimed that his conviction should be overturned due to his election and the Supreme Court's ruling that granted him some immunity from criminal prosecution. That will not be decided until at least December 9, when Merchan has requested that all documents in the argument over Trump's ruling be submitted. Even if Merchan rules fast to uphold the guilty conviction, this does not necessarily mean that Trump's Sentencing would take conducted prior to Inauguration Day. Prosecutors stated in a letter to the judge last week that, while they do not believe the charges against Trump should be dropped entirely, they believe the court must strike a balance between carrying out the case against Trump and Trump's presidency—suggesting that one way to do so would be to postpone Trump's sentencing until after he leaves office. Even if Merchan rejects that suggestion, Trump might appeal Merchan's rulings upholding the verdict, which could further delay the process before the sentencing.
What about Trump's Civil Cases?
Unlike Trump's federal criminal charges, the civil cases pending against him—including in federal court—are not expected to be impacted by his election, as Supreme Court precedent in Clinton v. Jones established that sitting presidents can still be held liable in civil court for actions committed before taking office. This means that writer E. Jean Carroll's two defamation cases against Trump, as well as the civil fraud case against Trump and his business associates, would be unaffected while Trump appeals the decisions in those cases. Also, if the appeals court
If the rulings are upheld, Trump will still be liable for more than $90 million owed in Carroll's two claims, as well as more than $470 million—and counting—in the civil fraud case. Democratic legislators and Capitol police officers are suing Trump in civil court over his role in the Jan. 6 violence, and judges have already decided that he is not immune.
Will Trump take revenge on prosecutors and judges?
Trump has promised "retribution" against his political opponents if he retakes the White House, and he has singled out Smith as someone he wants to exact revenge on, threatening to deport the special counsel despite the fact that he is not an immigrant. Carroll, Merchan, and Willis are among those Trump has targeted, as are New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who prosecuted and handled the civil fraud case, respectively. On the flip
Cannon may be rewarded by a future President Trump, who has consistently hailed the judge's favorable judgments in the papers case. Before the election, ABC News reported that Cannon was on Trump's short list for attorney general, and there has been speculation that she could be considered for a more prestigious judicial position, such as the Supreme Court.
