Trump still being prosecuted in classified docs, election interference cases | Fact check

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Post implies judge ended Jack Smith's prosecution of Donald Trump

A March 16 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows side-by-side images of former President Donald Trump and Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith.

"SIGNED SEALED, DELIVERED: Judge ends Jack Smith – Trump WIN," reads the post.

Some commenters took the post to mean that Smith's prosecutions of Trump had ended.

"THEY NEVER intended to win these indictments THEY only wanted to drain President Trumps (sic) assets and take him off the election circuit," reads one comment.

The post was shared more than 200 times in three days.

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Our rating: Missing context

The implied claim here is wrong. Smith is prosecuting Trump in two separate federal cases, one involving Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and one involving his alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss. Both cases are still ongoing.

Trump still faces charges in classified documents, election interference cases

The federal judges responsible have not brought an end to the two criminal cases brought against Trump as a result of Smith's investigations.

Trump faces 40 counts in the classified documents case, including charges of obstructing justice, making false statements and trying to "alter, destroy, mutilate or conceal evidence." More than 300 classified documents were recovered from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, over a year after he left the White House

Judge Eileen Cannon is expected to postpone a May 20 trial date because of disputes in the case, and she has said it will probably be later than the prosecution's proposal of July 8. Trump’s lawyers suggested Aug. 12, but also urged Cannon to postpone the trial until after the November election.

Fact check: Biden had nothing to do with Trump's indictment in classified documents probe

Trump faces another four counts in the election interference case – three for conspiracy and one for obstruction. He is accused of falsely claiming election fraud and trying to overturn the legitimate 2020 election results.

Judge Tanya Chutkan canceled a March 4 trial date as higher courts weigh Trump's claim that a former president is immune from prosecution for official acts. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal and scheduled arguments for the week of April 22.

In the first comment, the social media user who made the post shared a link to an article published in January about Chutkan barring Smith from filing pretrial motions without permission as Trump's immunity claim is decided. Chutkan, though, rejected a request from Trump's team to hold Smith in contempt, NBC News reported.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump still charged in classified docs, Jan. 6 cases | Fact check

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