Summary
Special counsel Jack Smith dropped 44 federal charges against Donald Trump, citing DOJ policy that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
The charges, including election interference and classified documents retention, could be refiled after Trump’s presidency.
Critics, including Rep. Dan Goldman and former Capitol officer Aquilino Gonell, decried the move as a miscarriage of justice, asserting it places Trump above the law.
Trump and allies celebrated the decision as a victory, with Vice President-elect JD Vance vowing to prevent similar prosecutions.
Democrats fear Trump will seek political retaliation, deepening national divisions.
Dropping them now actually prevents a Trump Admin appointee from getting them dismissed with prejudice. it sucks that trumps delay tactics let him run out the clock, and it’s unclear of Garland was malicious or incompetent in how long he delayed appointing Smith. Hopefully we come out the other side.