Special counsel moves to abandon election interference and classified documents cases against Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented 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.

Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal maneuvers and then winning re-election despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the country's constitutional foundations.

“I persevered, against all odds, and WON," Trump exulted in a post on Truth Social, his social media website.

He also said that “these cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.”

The judge in the election case granted prosecutors' dismissal request. A decision in the documents case was still pending on Monday afternoon.

The outcome makes it clear that, when it comes to a president and criminal accusations, nothing supersedes the voters' own verdict. In court filings, Smith's team emphasized that the move to end their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the 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.

They wrote that Trump’s return to the White House “sets at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: on the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law.”

In this situation, “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” they concluded.

Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “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.”

Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will start his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead.

The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters' violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House.

The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial.

The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden.

In dismissing the case, Chutkan acknowledged prosecutors' request to do so “without prejudice,” raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump when his term is over. She wrote that is “consistent with the Government’s understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office.”

But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office.

immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office.

The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency.

The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.

The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings.

In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort.

Trump faced two other state prosecutions while running for president. One them, a New York case involving hush money payments, resulted in a conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president had been found guilty of a crime.

The sentencing in that case is on hold as Trump's lawyers try to have the conviction dismissed before he takes office, arguing that letting the verdict stand will interfere with his presidential transition and duties.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is fighting the dismissal but has indicated that it would be open to delaying sentencing until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the solution needs to balance the obligations of the presidency with “the sanctity of the jury verdict."

Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there.

Any trial appears unlikely there while Trump holds office. The prosecution already was on hold after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case.

Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.

Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Michael Sisak and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.

President-elect Donald Trump gestures after speaking during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump gestures after speaking during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump arrives before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP)

A bankruptcy judge on Monday ordered a new hearing in conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' effort to stop the satirical news outlet The Onion from buying Infowars and turning it into a parody.

Jones alleges fraud and collusion marred the bankruptcy auction in which The Onion was named the winning bidder on Nov. 14 over a company affiliated with him.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez had been scheduled to hear an emergency motion to disqualify The Onion's bid, but decided to put it off until either Dec. 9 or Dec. 17. That's also when the judge will hear arguments on a request to approve the sale of Infowars to The Onion. Lopez said similar arguments are being made in both requests.

Lopez could ultimately allow The Onion to move forward with its purchase, order a new auction or name the other bidder as the winner. At stake is whether Jones gets to stay at Infowars’ studio in Austin, Texas, under a new owner friendly to him, or whether he gets kicked out by The Onion.

The other bidder, First United American Companies, runs a website in Jones’ name that sells nutritional supplements.

Regardless, Jones has set up a new studio, websites and social media accounts that would allow him to keep airing his show. And his personal account with 3.3 million followers on the social platform X was not part of the sale, although Lopez will be deciding whether it should be included in the liquidation and sold off later.

In a new court filing Monday, lawyers for X objected to any sale of the accounts of both Jones and Infowars, saying X is the owner of the accounts and that it has not given consent for them to be sold or transferred. Jones has praised X owner Elon Musk on his show and suggested that Musk should buy Infowars. Musk has not responded publicly to that suggestion and was not among the bidders.

Jones' bankruptcy and the liquidation of his assets came about after he was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion to relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Jones was found liable for defamation and emotional distress damages in lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas for repeatedly calling the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators a hoax staged by actors to increase gun control.

Proceeds from the liquidation are to go to Jones' creditors, including the Sandy Hook families who sued him.

Jones alleges The Onion’s bid was the result of fraud and collusion involving many of those families, the humor site and a court-appointed trustee who is overseeing the liquidation.

First United American Companies submitted a $3.5 million sealed bid, while The Onion offered $1.75 million in cash. But The Onion's bid also included a pledge by Sandy Hook families to forgo some or all of the auction proceeds due to them to give other creditors a total of $100,000 more than they would receive under other bids.

The trustee, Christopher Murray, said that made The Onion's proposal better for creditors and he named it the winning bid. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Jones and First United American Companies claimed that the bid violated Lopez’s rules for the auction by including multiple entities and lacking a valid dollar amount. Jones also alleged Murray improperly canceled an expected round of live bidding and only selected from among the sealed bids that were submitted.

Jones called the auction “rigged” and a “fraud” on his show, which airs on the Infowars website, radio stations and Jones' X account. He filed a counter lawsuit last week against Murray, The Onion's parent company and the Sandy Hook families in the bankruptcy court.

In a court filing on Sunday, Murray called the allegations a “desperate attempt” to delay the sale of Infowars to The Onion and accused Jones, his lawyers and attorneys for First United American Companies of a “vicious smear campaign lobbing patently false accusations.” He also alleges Jones collaborated with First United American Companies to try to buy Infowars.

Lopez’s September order on the auction procedures made a live bidding round optional. And it gave broad authority to Murray to conduct the sale, including the power to reject any bid, no matter how high, that was “contrary to the best interests” of Jones, his company and their creditors.

But at a Nov. 14 hearing Lopez said he was concerned about the process and transparency.

“We’re all going to an evidentiary hearing and I’m going to figure out exactly what happened,” he said. “No one should feel comfortable with the results of this auction.”

The assets of Infowars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, that were up for sale included the Austin studio, Infowars' video archive, video production equipment, product trademarks, and Infowars' websites and social media accounts.

Jones is appealing the $1.5 billion in judgments citing free speech rights, but has acknowledged that the school shooting happened.

Jones has brought in millions of dollars a year in revenue by hawking nutritional supplements, clothing, survival gear and other merchandise, including more than $22 million this year through Sept. 30 from his Infowars Store website, according to court documents.

Many of Jones’ personal assets, including real estate, guns and other personal belongings, also are being sold as part of the bankruptcy.

Documents filed in court this year say Jones has about $9 million in personal assets, while Free Speech Systems has about $6 million in cash and more than $1 million worth of inventory.

A copy of the satirical outlet The Onion is seen Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Little Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Jill Bleed)

FILE - Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks to the media after arriving at the federal courthouse for a hearing in front of a bankruptcy judge, Friday, June 14, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)