Early Dismissal
Plus: The election certification process continues. 🗳️
This Week in Democracy
- Special Counsel Jack Smith moved to dismiss the two federal criminal cases against President-elect Trump based on Justice Department policy that prohibits the prosecution of sitting presidents. Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed to dismiss the election interference case, and an appeals court agreed to dismiss the classified documents case.
- Trump argued in a court filing that his criminal hush money case in New York should be dismissed and his convictions should be thrown out. Prosecutors have said that they will oppose Trump’s motion. Their response is due on Dec. 9.
- Trump asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to dismiss the state election interference case against him, arguing that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted. Separately, one of Trump’s co-defendants, Kenneth Chesebro, asked a court to invalidate his guilty plea in the case.
- Dinesh D’Souza, a right-wing filmmaker, acknowledged that his widely debunked film “2000 Mules” was based on “inaccurate information.” The acknowledgment came in a public apology to a Georgia man whom D’Souza falsely accused of committing voter fraud in the film. The film was a prominent part of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
State of the States
In Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt certified the results of the November election. “After a careful review of the counties’ election results, I am pleased to confirm that Pennsylvania had a free, fair, safe, and secure general election on Nov. 5,” he said. “Thank you to county election officials for their hard work preparing for and conducting a smooth election.”
Schmidt announced earlier that, in accordance with state law, each of the state’s 67 counties completed audits that confirmed the accuracy of the election results. “These audits are statistical proof that the reported general election results are accurate, which is a testament to the hard work of county election officials who have spent weeks diligently ensuring the integrity of the election results,” he said.