WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — In the weeks since President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory, his legal woes are disappearing.
"He’s escaped more legal jeopardy than I’ve ever seen anyone," said John E. Jones, president of Dickinson College and a former federal judge.
On Monday, Special Counsel Jack Smith decided to end his two cases, one accusing Trump of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving the White House, another surrounding Trump’s alleged illegal attempts to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
The president-elect took to Truth Social, writing “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 decision did not come as a surprise as the Justice Department does not prosecute sitting presidents and Smith was likely to be ousted by the new administration.
In one court filing, prosecutors said, “The Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.”
Meanwhile, the sentencing in Trump’s New York felony convictions for falsifying business records is on hold.
"District Attorney Alvin Bragg has urged the court to basically warehouse the case and let it sit for the duration of Trump’s term conceding the point that he can’t serve a sentence during his time in office," Jones said.
Trump’s lawyers are appealing to the judge.
"The other alternative is for Merchan to simply dismiss the case," Jones said
The Georgia election interference case against the president-elect may not head to trial during Trump’s next term.
A state appeals court is deciding whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must be removed after a romantic relationship surfaced between her and a special prosecutor hired to lead the case.
"It’s in a procedural state that I don’t think they could put it back together again and my guess is that case is going to just go away," Jones said.
Trump pleaded not guilty in the Georgia case.
