President-elect Donald Trump is speaking out after Special Counsel Jack Smith moved to dismiss two high-profile federal felony cases against him. On Monday, Trump used his social media platform, Truth Social, to address the decision, labeling the investigations “empty and lawless.”
“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought,” Trump wrote. “It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Special Counsel Smith, in court filings, requested the dismissal of the federal election interference case and the classified documents case. He cited the Justice Department’s longstanding policy, which categorically bars the prosecution of sitting presidents.
The decision comes after months of legal battles. Trump, who pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, faced allegations tied to efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. The election interference case saw significant delays, with the Supreme Court eventually affirming that presidents are entitled to immunity for certain official acts.
The second case involved Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office. Trump pleaded not guilty to 40 counts in that case. A federal judge dismissed the charges in July, and Smith had been pursuing an appeal before his recent request to drop the case entirely.
Ohio Senator and Vice President-elect JD Vance weighed in, emphasizing the political nature of the investigations. “If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison,” Vance wrote on X. “These prosecutions were always political. Now it’s time to ensure what happened to President Trump never happens in this country again.”
