Special counsel Jack Smith is evaluating how to wind down pending federal prosecutions brought against Donald Trump after the 45th President’s thumping victory against Kamala Harris earlier today, sources close to the Justice Department have claimed.
Trump, 78, who was convicted of 34 felony charges related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, is expected to return to the White House after special counsel Jack Smith drops pending prosecutions.
The decision is based on longstanding Department of Justice policy which means a sitting President cannot face criminal prosecution while in office.
However, it is not yet known how Smith’s prosecutors will approach dismissing both the federal election case in Washington and efforts to overturn the 2020 result in Georgia.
Donald Trump’s prosecutions set to wind down after public delivered thumping ‘verdict’
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Both cases already faced a major obstacle earlier this year after the Supreme Court made a decision to give presidents partial immunity against prosecution.
A classified documents case was separately indefinitely suspended after Smith was ruled as not being a lawful appointment.
Trump is set to face sentencing in his New York hush money case later this money but has also sought to toss the case after the Supreme Court claimed former Commander-in-Chiefs retain broad immunity after leaving the Oval Office.
The 78-year-old had already vowed to fire Smith “within two seconds” of returning to the Oval Office.
Speaking just days ahead of the 2024 US Presidential Election, Trump said: “We got immunity at the Supreme Court. It’s so easy.
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Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to members of the media at the US Department of Justice building in Washington, DC
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“I would fire him within two seconds. He’ll be one of the first things addressed.”
Trump’s legal woes appeared all but abated after it became clear this morning he would join Grover Cleveland as just the second President to serve two non-consecutive terms in the White House.
The 45th President, who will soon become the 47th President, declared victory after winning Pennsylvania.
However, Trump only managed to exceed 270 electoral college votes after snatching Wisconsin later this morning.
Trump also managed to flip two other states he lost to Joe Biden, Georgia and Michigan, while clinging onto North Carolina.
Donald Trump is the new president of the United States REUTERS Arizona and Nevada still look favourable for Trump, with several estimates suggesting the Republican nominee will end up with 312 electoral college votes.
During the President-elect’s victory speech this morning, Trump said: “I’ll be fighting for you, and with every breath in my body.
“I will not rest until we deliver the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve.”
He added: “I will not let you down. America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer, and stronger than it has ever been before.”
Harris, who cancelled her election party in the early hours of the morning, phoned Trump after hours of silence following her defeat.
Kamala Harris
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In an email sent to Harris campaign staff, campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon revealed that the Vice-President told Trump: “She would work with President [Joe] Biden to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, unlike what we saw in 2020.”
O’Malley Dillon added: “You stared down unprecedented headwinds and obstacles that were largely out of our control. We knew this would be a margin-of-error race, and it was.”
Harris is expected to deliver a public statement addressing her defeat later tonight.
However, calls for prosecutors to drop pending charges against Trump were only pushed further earlier today after former Attorney General Bill Barr pointed out the “verdict” delivered by the public.
Donald Trump
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He told Fox News: “The American people have rendered their verdict on President Trump, and decisively chosen him to lead the country for the next four years.
“They did that with full knowledge of the claims against him by prosecutors around the country and I think Attorney General Garland and the state prosecutors should respect the people’s decision and dismiss the cases against President Trump now.”
Barr added: “The public interest now demands that the country unite and focus on the challenges we face at home and abroad.
“Attorney General Garland and all the state prosecutors should do the right thing and help the country move forward by dismissing the cases.”