U.S. prosecutors announced the dismissal of two significant criminal cases against Donald Trump, shortly before his expected return to the White House after success in the latest presidential election.
The U.S. special counsel Jack Smith, who has been leading the two federal cases against the president-elect, filed a motion to dismiss the case against Trump in Washington over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Smith also withdrew his appeal against the dismissal of the criminal case in Florida in which Trump was accused of illegally storing classified documents from his term in office at his private Mar-a-Lago resort.
In justification, Smith cited Justice Department policy that the United States does not investigate sitting presidents.
Trump's spokesman Steven Cheung called the end of the proceedings "a major victory for the rule of law" in a statement, again describing the cases as "unconstitutional."
"The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system," Cheung wrote.
Smith had already revised the indictment for the election interference case over the summer, following the Supreme Court's ruling to grant US presidents broad immunity for official acts.
If convicted in that case, the former president would have faced decades in prison.
However, as the proceedings were at the federal level, Trump would have likely halted them after taking office.
It is initially unclear whether the proceedings are to be resumed after his second term, but experts consider it possible that the Republican could pardon himself once in office.
In the motion to dismiss the case, Smith wrote: "The Government’s position on the merits of the defendant's prosecution has not changed. But the circumstances have."
He emphasized that the decision was not based on the merits of the prosecution, which he said "the Government stands fully behind."
Smith still intends to proceed with the cases against two of Trump's co-defendants in the documents case - the former president's assistant Walt Nauta and lawyer Carlos De Oliveira.
Trump was criminally charged several times after his first term in office. In addition to the proceedings in Washington and Florida, he was found guilty in a hush money trial at the state level in New York, but sentencing in that case was postponed indefinitely last week.
Further proceedings in Georgia are also currently paralyzed due to legal maneuvering.
Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 after winning the presidential election against Democrat Kamala Harris at the beginning of November.
