New York Times Report
DOJ Tradition of Not Indicting Sitting Presidents
Effectively Expected to Be Nullified
Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, is expected to see Jack Smith, the special prosecutor who investigated and indicted him during his presidency, voluntarily resign, the New York Times (NYT) reported on the 13th (local time), citing sources.
Earlier, Special Prosecutor Smith indicted President-elect Trump last August on charges including the removal of classified documents during his first term and refusal to accept the 2020 election results. At the time of the indictment, Trump was a former president, but with his victory in this election, it was expected that the special prosecutor’s indictment would effectively be nullified in accordance with the Department of Justice’s tradition of not indicting a sitting president. Trump also claimed the special prosecutor’s indictment was political persecution and warned that he would dismiss Special Prosecutor Smith if he won the election.
The NYT reported that because of this, Special Prosecutor Smith is planning to wrap up his work and resign before President-elect Trump returns to the White House in January next year. On the 8th, Special Prosecutor Smith requested the court to delay proceedings for a month until the 2nd of next month, stating he needed time to decide how to conclude the cases related to President-elect Trump. This means that, considering the unprecedented situation of the defendant being elected president, more time is needed to determine the appropriate next steps.
Earlier, American media outlets such as NBC interpreted this as possibly entering a review for dismissal of the charges. The NYT pointed out that the conclusion of the cases related to President-elect Trump was virtually anticipated. The U.S. Department of Justice has long upheld the principle that a sitting president cannot be indicted on criminal charges, and in July, the federal Supreme Court ruled that official acts performed by a president during their term are exempt from criminal prosecution even after leaving office.
Separately from the case closure, there is interest in whether the case report prepared by Special Prosecutor Smith will be made public. By regulation, the special prosecutor must submit a report summarizing the investigation, which is delivered to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The NYT added that whether the report will be made public depends on Attorney General Garland, who has consistently expressed his intention to release the report.
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