Former U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Special Counsel Jack Smith [Source: Reuters]

U.S. prosecutors moved to drop the two federal criminal cases against Donald Trump involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his handling of classified documents, citing his impending return to the presidency.

The steps by prosecutors working with Special Counsel Jack Smith in the two cases represent a big legal victory for the Republican president-elect as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20.

Prosecutors working with Special Counsel Jack Smith said a longstanding U.S. Justice Department policy holding that sitting presidents should not face criminal prosecution requires the case involving the 2020 election to be dismissed before Trump returns to the White House.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung called the move “a major victory for the rule of law.”

Smith’s office also moved to end its attempt to revive the case accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents when he left office in 2021 after his first term as president. But the prosecutors signaled they will still ask a federal appeals court to bring back the case against two Trump associates who had been accused of obstructing that investigation.

The move represents a remarkable shift from the special prosecutor who obtained indictments against Trump in two separate cases accusing him of crimes that threatened U.S. election integrity and national security. Prosecutors acknowledged that the election of a president who faced ongoing criminal cases created an unprecedented predicament for the Justice Department.

It shows how Trump’s election victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris was not just a political triumph, but also a legal one.

Trump pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to four federal charges accusing him of conspiring to obstruct the collection and certification of votes following his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump, who as president will again oversee the Justice Department, was expected to order an end to the federal 2020 election case and to Smith’s appeal in the documents case.

The Justice Department policy, dating back to the 1970s, holds that a criminal prosecution of a sitting president would violate the U.S. Constitution by undermining the ability of the country’s chief executive to function.

Courts will still have to approve both requests from prosecutors.

Florida-based Judge Aileen Cannon, who Trump appointed to the federal bench, dismissed the classified documents case in July, ruling that Smith was improperly appointed to his role as special counsel.

Smith’s office had been appealing that ruling and indicated on Monday that the appeal would continue as it relates to Trump personal aide Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, a manager at his Mar-a-Lago resort, who had been previously
charged alongside Trump in the case. Both Nauta and De Oliveria have pleaded not guilty, as did Trump.

In the 2020 election case, Trump’s lawyers had previously said they would seek to dismiss the charges based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution over official actions taken while in the White House.

Smith attempted to salvage the case following that ruling, dropping some allegations but arguing that the rest were not covered by presidential immunity and could proceed to trial.

Judge Tanya Chutkan had been due to decide whether the immunity decision required other portions of the case to be thrown out. A trial date originally set for March 2024 had not been rescheduled.

The case was brought following a probe led by Smith into Trump’s attempts to hold onto power following his 2020 election defeat, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters following an inflammatory speech by Trump near the White House.

Trump denied wrongdoing and argued that the U.S. legal system had been turned against him to damage his presidential campaign. He vowed during the campaign that he would fire Smith if he returned to the presidency.

Trump in May became the first former president to be convicted of a crime when a jury in New York found him guilty of felony charges relating to hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election. His sentencing in that case has
been indefinitely postponed.

A criminal case against Trump in Georgia state court involving the 2020 election is in limbo.