Summary
With Donald Trump’s re-election, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is preparing to suspend federal criminal cases against him, as longstanding policy bars prosecuting a sitting president.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who previously pressed forward on charges related to January 6 and classified documents, must now consider unwinding these cases.
The DOJ’s stance follows a 2000 memo suggesting impeachment, not prosecution, as the proper recourse for a sitting president.
Trump’s legal team is also strategizing to dismiss or delay other cases, viewing his victory as a mandate to end “weaponization” of the justice system.
The DOJ will work for him starting January 20th. Even if they continued he would just have them drop it all that day.