The legal proceedings in question are the federal 2020 election subversion case and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. As per the law, a sitting President cannot be criminally prosecuted, which has led to these cases being temporarily shelved.
According to Newsweek, Trump has vehemently denied all charges related to these cases. In a conversation with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in October, he even pledged to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith "within two seconds" of taking office. However, Smith seems to have a different plan. Reports suggest that he intends to wrap up his work and step down along with his team before Trump assumes office, thereby completing all significant aspects of the investigations himself.
Smith's office is currently devising a strategy to conclude the cases. However, unforeseen factors such as court rulings or actions by other government officials could potentially affect his timeline. The U.S. Constitution allows a sitting president to grant pardons for federal crimes, but it remains unclear whether this could apply to self-pardoning, should Trump be convicted in the federal election subversion case. This is uncharted territory in U.S. history.
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In the classified documents case, Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the case. However, Smith has since filed an appeal. Glenn Kirschner, a former assistant U.S. attorney and frequent Trump critic, recently spoke about Smith's strategy to conclude the cases. He predicted that Smith would release an "eye-opening" report on Trump's criminal cases before stepping down.
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"We are going to see, I'm quite confident, a several hundred-page report from special counsel Jack Smith documenting all of the evidence of crimes by Donald Trump and probably his many criminal associates. That will be an eye-opening moment. It will probably be a jaw-dropping moment and it will really be a disheartening moment. Why? Because it looks like those crimes might forever go unprosecuted. That is not a sure thing but that is certainly where unfortunately the smart money is riding," Kirschner said.
Kirschner also expressed concern that if the report is not issued now, the Trump administration might attempt to bury and possibly destroy the evidence. However, he also pointed out that Attorney General Merrick Garland has committed to releasing any special counsel report that is issued.
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Kirschner is not alone in his predictions. Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan under the Barack Obama administration, also suggested that Smith could release a report detailing the evidence against Trump. In an interview on MSNBC, she discussed how Smith might be able to "revive" Trump's cases.
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"There are a couple things he can do. One...is to issue a full-throated report on both of the cases; the January 6th election interference case, as well as the documents case in Florida—those two things. The other thing he could do, Katie, and I don't know if this would withstand all of the machinations that Trump will certainly try to put up against it—to dismiss the cases without prejudice and make the argument later that the statute of limitations is tolled during the Trump presidency and revive the cases in 2029. I think there is a 50-50 shot that succeeds, so if he ends it now with prejudice, that keeps those cases alive," McQuade said.
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She further added that this move would put the Trump administration in a difficult position of either accepting that or having to refile the cases just so they can dismiss them with prejudice. The unfolding of these events will undoubtedly be a significant chapter in the annals of American political history.
