NOVEMBER 25, 2024:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the criminal charges against President-elect Donald Trump that accused him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election and to abandon the classified documents case against him. In court filings on Monday (Nov. 25, 2024), the prosecutors cited longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. The decision by Smith, who had fiercely sought to hold Trump criminally accountable for his efforts to subvert the 2020 election, represented the end of the federal effort against the former president who firmly won election this month despite the election-related cases and multiple other unrelated criminal charges against him, and is headed back to the White House.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2024:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington is hearing arguments about the potential next steps in the federal election subversion prosecution of Donald Trump. It’s the first hearing since the Supreme Court narrowed the case by ruling that former presidents are entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges. Prosecutors and defense lawyers have submitted dueling proposals before Wednesday’s (Sept. 4, 2024) hearing. Trump isn’t expected to be at the courthouse. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team said it could be ready at any time to file a legal brief with its position on how to apply the justices’ immunity opinion to the case. Defense lawyers intend to file multiple motions to dismiss the case.
JULY 1, 2024:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts. The court on Monday (July 1, 2024) extended the delay in the Washington criminal case against ex-President Donald Trump on charges he plotted to overturn his 2020 election loss. There is little chance Trump could be tried before the November election. The justices have ordered the trial judge to figure out how to apply the decision to the Republican ex-president’s case. Justice Sonia Sotomayor says the court’s decision makes a mockery of the principle no man is above the law. Trump calls it a big win.
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