Special counsel Jack Smith is evaluating how to wind down the two federal cases against Donald Trump before he takes office in light of Justice Department protocol that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, a source has said.
Mr Smith charged Mr Trump last year with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
But Mr Trump’s election defeat of Kamala Harris means he can no longer face prosecution in accordance with a decades-old Justice Department legal opinion.