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Donald Trump could have been convicted at trial for seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election without his victory in last year’s election, according to the special prosecutor who led the federal prosecution of the president-elect.
Jack Smith, a federal prosecutor, was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 as special counsel to oversee cases against Trump. He obtained two indictments against the former president, one of which accused Trump of meddling in the outcome of the 2020 election.
But Smith ultimately decided to dismiss both proceedings after Trump won the 2024 election, based on a long-standing Justice Department policy that bars prosecutions of sitting presidents.
This view “is categorical and does not depend on the seriousness of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s evidence, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Bureau fully supports,” Smith wrote in a report released Tuesday morning.
“Indeed, without the election of Mr. Trump and his imminent return to the presidency, the [special counsel’s] The office found that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and maintain a conviction at trial,” Smith added.
A spokesperson for Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a developing story
