Washington: On Tuesday, a U.S. appeals court approved a request from prosecutors to dismiss the case against President-elect Donald Trump concerning the mishandling of classified documents.
Special Counsel Jack Smith filed the motion on Monday, citing a Justice Department policy that prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.
Earlier this year, a district court judge in Florida, appointed by Trump, had already dismissed the case. However, Smith had appealed that decision to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted the dismissal without providing any additional commentary.
Despite this development, Smith is continuing his pursuit of charges against Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta, a personal valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
The case initially accused Trump, 78, of taking significant amounts of classified documents after leaving the White House and obstructing efforts to recover them. Separately, Smith also accused the former president of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which was won by Joe Biden. On Monday, Smith requested to dismiss this case as well, and a judge approved the request.
Earlier this month, Smith paused both federal cases after Trump emerged victorious in the November 5 presidential election, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
In addition to federal cases, Trump faces two state-level legal battles. In New York, he was convicted in May of 34 counts related to falsifying business records. The charges stemmed from allegations of covering up a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election to suppress claims of a 2006 affair.
Judge Juan Merchan has delayed sentencing in the New York case while considering Trump’s legal team’s request to overturn the conviction. The appeal references a Supreme Court ruling from July that grants former presidents broad immunity from prosecution.
In Georgia, Trump faces racketeering charges for alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. However, this case is expected to be put on hold during his presidency.
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