Special counsel prosecutors will terminate criminal cases against Donald Trump following his victory in the U.S. election.
According to Justice Department policy, once Trump returns to the White House, the special counsel’s office will be prohibited from pursuing further criminal actions against him. The decision to terminate the cases also reflects the practical reality that the cases cannot be completed before inauguration day.
In 2020, Trump launched his presidential campaign without anticipating that he would later be investigated and prosecuted for allegedly taking national security materials to his Mar-a-Lago club after the 2020 presidential election. To avoid these cases, Trump urged supporters to vote for him, claiming that a victory would shield him from prosecution due to presidential immunity.
Trump’s strategy hinged on delaying the legal process until Election Day, as the prospect for a victory would allow him to appoint a loyal attorney general who could potentially dismiss the cases. This approach, however, failed to stop his conviction on 34 felony counts related to an unlawful hush-money scheme to influence the 2016 election outcome. Despite the conviction, his popularity remained largely unaffected.
The Justice Department anticipated that if Trump won, his attorney general would likely drop the charges, making it impossible to continue the cases. Now, the department is considering how best to conclude the proceedings, especially the classified documents case. Leaving this case unchallenged could set a problematic precedent, limiting the department’s future ability to employ special counsels.
William Barr, former Trump attorney general, has urged an end to the cases against Trump, writing, “The American people have rendered their verdict on President Trump and decisively chosen him to lead the country for the next four years. They chose him to lead us with the full knowledge of the claims against him by prosecutors around the country.”
Barr added, “The attorney general and all the state prosecutors should do the right thing and help the country move forward by dismissing the cases.”
