Washington

US president-elect Donald Trump got good news after a judge granted a request by prosecutors to dismiss the election subversion case against him. They made the call on a policy of the Justice Department that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted.

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Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed on Monday (Nov 25) to the request by Special Counsel Jack Smith to dismiss the case against the president-elect "without prejudice". This means that once Trump leaves the White House after four years, the case could be revived.

"Dismissal without prejudice is appropriate here," Chutkan said. She mentioned that "the immunity afforded to a sitting president is temporary, expiring when they leave office."

Trump's lawyers did not oppose the motion to dismiss the case without prejudice.

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"That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government's proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind," Smith stated in his motion to dismiss.

Trump was accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election after Joe Biden was declared the winner. His other legal hassle involved the allegation that he took with him several top-secret documents after leaving the White House. 

Also Read: Trump promises more tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, China

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Notably, after Trump won the presidential race for a second time on November 5, the special counsel paused the election interference case and the documents case against him. 

Smith cited the long-standing Justice Department policy of not indicting or prosecuting a sitting president in his motions to have the cases dismissed.

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"The Government's position on the merits of the defendant's prosecution has not changed," Smith said in the filing with Chutkan. "But the circumstances have."

"It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President," Smith said.

"As a result, this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated."

Smith also withdrew his appeal of the dismissal of the classified documents case against Trump. However, he stated that he would continue to pursue the case against his two co-defendants, Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira.

Reacting to the dismissals, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called them a "major victory for the rule of law". He said in a statement, "The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country."