On November 25, 2024 — twenty days after Trump won the presidential election — Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to dismiss the federal conspiracy case charging Trump with attempting to overturn the 2020 election. The classified documents case, already dismissed by Judge Cannon but under appeal, was also formally abandoned. Both cases, representing the most serious criminal charges ever brought against a president, vanished.
What Was Dropped
The January 6 case (United States v. Trump, D.C.): Four counts — conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction, and conspiracy against citizens’ right to vote. The indictment documented the fake elector scheme, the pressure on Pence, the attempt to weaponize the DOJ, and the role of January 6 itself. After the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, Smith had filed a narrowed superseding indictment and a detailed 165-page evidentiary filing. All of it — dismissed.
The classified documents case (United States v. Trump, S.D. Fla.): 40 felony counts — 32 under the Espionage Act, plus obstruction, conspiracy, false statements, and concealment. The photos of boxes next to a toilet. The audio recording of Trump admitting the documents were classified. The evidence of his aide moving boxes to hide them from investigators. Judge Cannon had already dismissed it on the special counsel appointment theory. Smith had appealed. Now he withdrew the appeal.
Smith’s filing cited longstanding DOJ policy, memorialized in two Office of Legal Counsel opinions (1973 and 2000), that a sitting president cannot be indicted or criminally prosecuted. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the speed with which the case is expected to be resolved,” Smith wrote.
What Didn’t Change
The evidence didn’t change. The documents were still found in a bathroom. The audio recording still existed. The fake elector certificates were still filed. The “find me 11,780 votes” call was still recorded. Pence was still pressured. The Capitol was still breached. The 165-page evidentiary filing that Smith submitted to the court — detailing Trump’s actions in granular, sourced detail — was still public. Nothing about the facts changed. The only thing that changed was the election result.
Smith’s Resignation
Jack Smith resigned on January 7, 2025, submitting his final report. Trump called him a “deranged” prosecutor and vowed to go after him. The report, which the DOJ attempted to release, was partially blocked by courts. The evidence it documented remains in the public record. The cases it supported do not.
Bottom Line
The DOJ policy that protects a sitting president from prosecution exists for a reason. But it was never designed for this: a president who was indicted for crimes committed to win the presidency, who then won again, making his own prosecution impossible. The policy assumed that accountability would come after leaving office. It didn’t account for a scenario where winning the office is the escape from the charges. Jack Smith did his job. He investigated, indicted, tried (where he could), and documented everything. The system around him — the judiciary, the electorate, the DOJ’s own rules — ensured that none of it mattered. The evidence is preserved. The cases are dead. That’s the precedent.
Sources
- Politico: “Jack Smith drops criminal case against Trump,” November 25, 2024.
- Associated Press: Both federal cases dismissed, DOJ policy explained.
- New York Times: Analysis of dismissals and Smith’s final report.
- DOJ Office of Legal Counsel: 2000 memo on presidential immunity from prosecution.