Judge dismisses Trump's federal election interference charges

President-elect Trump’s criminal indictment accusing him of conspiring to subvert the 2020 election results is no more.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday swiftly granted special counsel Jack Smith’s motion to dismiss the case following Trump’s election victory.

“The court will therefore grant the Government leave to dismiss this case,” Chutkan wrote.

She dismissed it without prejudice, leaving open a theoretical possibility that the government can bring charges again after Trump leaves office.

But the two-page opinion officially marks the end of the historic indictment brought last year, which charged Trump with four felonies over his efforts to overturn his election loss to President Biden that culminated in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Earlier in the day, Smith moved to drop both of his criminal cases against Trump in alignment with a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

“After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC’s prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” Smith wrote, referencing the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

Smith has similarly asked to drop his appeal seeking to revive Trump’s criminal charges in Florida, where the former president stands accused of mishandling classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has not yet approved the dismissal but is expected to do so. The court’s procedures enable the clerk to sign off without requiring any judge’s approval.