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FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith are seen in a combination of file photos in Washington, U.S., in 2023.

REUTERS/Tasos Katopodis, Kevin Wurm/File Photo

Justice Department moves to dismiss Trump prosecutions

Special Counsel Jack Smith filed motions on Monday to dismiss both the election interference and classified documents cases against President-elect Donald Trump. The cases were doomed the day Trump was reelected, as a long-standing Justice Department policy prohibits the criminal prosecution of sitting presidents.

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Trump’s Jan. 6 acts were personal, not presidential, prosecutor argues

In a court filing unsealed on Wednesday, special counsel Jack Smith said Donald Trumpresorted to crimes” in an effort to retain power despite losing the 2020 election, including pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence not to certify electoral votes. Smith is trying to persuade Judge Tanya Chutkan that the former president’s actions were of a personal nature, and thus don’t fall under the sweeping protections for presidential acts the Supreme Court granted earlier this year.

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U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith makes a statement to reporters about the 37 federal charges returned by a grand jury in an indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on charges of unauthorized retention of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice, as Smith speaks at his offices in Washington, U.S. June 9, 2023.

REUTERS/Leah Millis

Special counsel drops new Trump indictment

Special counsel Jack Smith filed a new superseding indictment in former President Donald Trump’s election interference case on Tuesday. Smith aimed to conform with the Supreme Court’s ruling granting broad immunity to presidents for official acts. The new indictment removes charges associated with Trump allegedly directing his Justice Department to conduct phony election fraud investigations and choose fraudulent electors, as the high court ruling protects them as official acts.

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Special Counsel Jack Smith makes a statement to reporters about the 37 federal charges returned by a grand jury in an indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on charges of unauthorized retention of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice as Smith speaks at his offices in Washington, U.S. June 9, 2023.

REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

Why did a federal judge just dismiss Trump’s classified documents case?

Donald Trump has just received some very welcome news: Aileen Cannon, the federal judge overseeing the indictment alleging that Trump took classified documents when he left office, has just thrown out the case.

Cannon, a federal judge appointed by Trump, ruled that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the Appointment Clause of the Constitution because he was not appointed by the president or confirmed by the Senate. Her decision goes against the post-Watergate precedent that upheld the legality of independent prosecutors.

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Trump's uncertain future amid new indictments
Trump's uncertain future amid new indictments | US Politics In :60 | GZERO Media

Trump's uncertain future amid new indictments

Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, DC shares his perspective on US politics.

Will these new charges finally sink Trump?

And the answer is probably no. Special counsel Jack Smith this week announced a new set of indictments against President Trump for tampering with and destroying evidence in the case related to his mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. President Trump has survived multiple rounds of scandal, legal challenges, and ethical lapses that would've sunk any other politician. And politically, it sure looks like this one's not going to make much of a difference. He's still on top of the dog pile. That is the Republican presidential nomination process, and there probably won't be any consolidation or action on that until the first votes are cast in Iowa in January. What this does mean, however, is that it increases his legal jeopardy because it seems unlikely that the special counsel would've brought these additional charges if he didn't think he had sufficient evidence to find him guilty in a court of law.

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