An appellate court on Tuesday granted special counsel Jack Smith‘s request to terminate his appeal against Donald Trump related to classified documents, bringing to a close the second of the Justice Department‘s two criminal prosecutions against the president-elect.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued the brief decision one day after Smith’s prosecutors asked the court if they could withdraw their appeal in the case, citing Trump’s election victory and the DOJ’s long-standing policy that it does not prosecute sitting presidents.
Prosecutors said in their motion that they would continue their appeal against Trump’s two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. The appellate judges did not object.
Smith brought more than three dozen charges against Trump in Florida last year alleging the president-elect unlawfully retained national defense…
