FEDERAL PROSECUTIONS
Trump faces four charges in federal court in Washington accusing him of spreading false claims of election fraud to try to block the collection and certification of votes following the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Smith had also charged Trump with unlawfully holding onto classified documents after his first term ended in 2021 and obstructing efforts by the US government to retrieve the records.
Florida-based US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, dismissed all charges in July after finding that Smith was improperly appointed to the role and did not have the authority to bring the case.
The Justice Department filed an appeal in the case.
James Trusty, who previously represented Trump in both matters, said he was not as optimistic that the Justice Department would dismiss the cases on its own.
“My instinct is they would rather sit in status quo or largely status quo, rather than affirmatively pull the plug,” he said.
“Politically, I think they would rather have the new Trump administration’s fingerprints on the demise of the cases.”
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