The two cases investigated by the special prosecutor focus on Donald Trump’s allegedly illicit attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his withholding of classified documents after his departure from the White House.
In the first, in Washington, the Supreme Court recognized on July 1 that the President of the United States had a broad presumption of criminal immunity, forcing Jack Smith to present a revised indictment at the end of August.
The special prosecutor then developed in a voluminous document his arguments to demonstrate the private nature of the acts for which Donald Trump is being prosecuted, which are therefore not, according to him, covered by criminal immunity for his “official acts“.
In the second case, in Florida (southeast), Judge Aileen Cannon canceled the proceedings on July 15 on the grounds that the appointment of the special prosecutor in this case and the financing of his work violated sections of the Constitution relating to appointments and expenses. This decision is currently under appeal.
Once again president, Donald Trump could either appoint a new Justice Minister who would fire Jack Smith, or simply order his Justice Department to drop the charges.
In this regard, he will be able to invoke the constant policy of the Ministry of Justice consisting of not prosecuting a president in office.
However, this policy should not legally apply to criminal proceedings already initiated before his accession to power, since “it is a very different situation”, says Claire Finkelstein, professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania (northeast ).
But since this is the interpretation that will prevail under a Trump administration, in these federal procedures, “as things currently stand, he could only be judged after leaving power,” she adds.
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