President-elect Donald Trump said that the “cases against him should never have been brought” he said that the cases were “empty and lawless”. He said this after Special Counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Trump on Monday. He acknowledged that Trump’s return to the White House would obstruct any federal prosecution attempts related to his retention of classified documents or alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
According to the US Justice Department policy, sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. However, it marked a momentous finale to an extraordinary chapter in political and law enforcement history as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term.
According to the Associated Press (AP) news, Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal manoeuvres and then winning reelection despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the country’s constitutional foundations.
In the tweet, he said “$100 Million Dollars” of taxpayers money was wasted in the “Democrat Party’s fight against its political opponent ME [Trump]”.
He also mocked, the State Prosecutors and District Attorneys who were involved in his cases Fani Willis, Nathan Wade, Letitia James and Alvin Bragg. “State Prosecutors and District Attorneys, such as Fani Willis and her lover, Nathan Wade (who had absolutely zero experience in cases such as this, but was paid MILLIONS, enough for them to take numerous trips and cruises around the globe!), Letitia James, who inappropriately, unethically, and probably illegally, campaigned on “GETTING TRUMP” in order to win Political Office, and Alvin Bragg, who himself never wanted to bring this case against me, but was forced to do so by the Justice Department and the Democrat Party.”
He said nothing like this had happened ever before, adding “I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The judge in the election case granted prosecutors’ dismissal request. A decision in the documents case was still pending on Monday evening, reported AP News. In court filings, Smith’s team had stressed that the move to end their prosecution was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a legal shield that surrounds any commander-in-chief.
“That prohibition 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,” prosecutors said in one of their filings, quoted AP News.
In this situation, “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” they concluded.
Smith's team confirmed that the charges against Trump's co-defendants in the classified documents case, valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira will remain unchanged, stressing that "no principle of temporary immunity applies to them."
Steven Cheung, Trump’s incoming White House communications director, said Americans “want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.”
Vice-President-elect JD Vance said the prosecutions were "always political".
"If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison," he wrote on X.
The election case was brought in 2023 and was seen as the most serious legal threat facing Trump while he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his 2020 defeat against Joe Biden, this effort climaxed with the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack.