Classified documents case against Trump dismissed ending Jack Smith’s prosecution of him

Charges against Donald Trump for alleged mishandling of classified documents were dismissed by an appeals court on Tuesday. This ends Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of Trump after his office approached the court on Monday to dismiss the charges. 

Trump has been accused of willfully retaining classified documents containing national defence information after he left office. The charges, first made in June 2023, also stated that he directed the deletion of security video at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

On Monday, Smith had also asked the court to dismiss dismiss the election subversion case against Trump. It was based on a Justice Department policy that doesn't allow the prosecution of a sitting president. Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed to the Special Counsel's request to dismiss the case against the president-elect "without prejudice". 

Earlier in July, US District Judge Aileen Cannon had dismissed the documents case stating that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was illegal. 

After Trump was chosen to become the president of the country after defeating Kamala Harris on November 5, the special counsel paused the election interference case and the documents case against him.

Also Read: Election subversion case against Trump dismissed due to 'categorical' DOJ policy on presidents

This was done due to the Justice Department policy of not indicting or prosecuting a sitting president.

Notably, these dismissals were expected once Trump was re-elected because of the DoJ policy. Two other cases are still hanging in the balance - the New York hush money payments case and the Georgia election interference case.

Meanwhile, NBC News reported earlier that Smith and his team are likely to resign before Trump's inauguration. He is expected to file a formal report on the charges before leaving the office.

Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records tied to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. The president-elect’s attorneys argue that he should be guarded against sentencing in the case due to the presidential immunity protections. 

Notably, a New York judge has postponed the sentencing in that case previously scheduled for Nov 26.