President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, expressed his elation on Monday following the decision by federal special prosecutor, Jack Smith, to drop the criminal cases against him related to the Capitol riot and the possession of classified White House documents. "It was a political witch hunt, and the fact that such a thing could happen marked a low point in our nation's history. Yet, I persevered and, against all odds, I WON," Trump declared in a message on his platform, Truth Social, echoed by American media outlets.
Prosecutor Smith moved to dismiss both the Capitol riot case, which was pending in the federal court of the District of Columbia, and the case concerning classified documents, in a federal court in Florida. In his filings, Smith argued that Trump won the November 5 elections and that the Constitution prohibits the Department of Justice from lodging criminal charges against a sitting president.
During the electoral campaign, Trump forecasted that his first action as president would be to fire Smith and order the cessation of what he perceives as politically motivated investigations against him.
Judicial Accusations Against Trump
Smith's decision to drop the investigations marks another triumph for Trump, who had been facing up to four criminal charges. In the District of Columbia, he was charged with attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, and allegedly inciting the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. On that day, a mob of Trump's supporters stormed Congress in a failed attempt to block the certification of Biden's victory.
In Florida, Trump was accused of taking hundreds of classified documents without authorization at the end of his first term and unlawfully keeping them at his Mar-a-Lago residence. Both cases encountered obstacles after the Supreme Court, with its conservative majority, ruled in July that former presidents enjoy broad judicial immunity.
In May, Trump made history as the first former president to be convicted of a criminal offense after being found guilty in a New York state trial of falsifying business records to cover up payments to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. However, Judge Juan Merchan postponed the sentencing of this case last Friday without specifying a new date, initially set for November 26.
Additionally, Trump is facing a fourth criminal case in a Georgia state court over election interference in the 2020 elections. Nonetheless, this process has been clouded by controversies due to the romantic relationship between prosecutor Fani Willis and a subordinate.