Jack Smith's Case Against Donald Trump Has Been Dismissed "Without Prejudice" — What Does That Mean?

Donald Trump's legal battles have been long and complicated, full of hiccups and hangups that will only be prolonged now that he has been reelected for presidential office. While his civil hush-money case in New York City has been put on hold, folks were waiting with bated breath to find out what would happen to the president-elect and the federal case against him involving 2020 election interference.

In the past several days, though, the public has learned that special counsel Jack Smith, who initially filed the charges against Trump, "asked to have the charges dropped, citing a Justice Department policy that bans the prosecution of a sitting president," per the BBC. And as of Nov. 25, the case against Trump has been "dismissed without prejudice" by Judge Tanya Chutkan.

What does that mean?

The election interference case against Trump has been "dismissed without prejudice" by Judge Tanya Chutkan, the counsel presiding over the case — but if you're unsure exactly what that means, you're not alone.

Well, according to the Shouse California Law Group, a "dismissal without prejudice" is essentially a temporary dismissal, meaning that the case can be filed again at a later point.

In this case, that means that after Trump's second and final presidential term, the charges may be brought against him again. In a public filing for the election interference case, Jack Smith explained the reasoning for requesting that the case be temporarily dismissed.

"It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President,” he wrote.

He added, "This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant."

However, Republicans who view this case against Trump as a "weaponization of government," including Trump himself, are viewing the temporary dismissal as a win.

"It's official! [The Jan. 6] case against Trump has been dismissed. All we do is win," one user on X (formerly Twitter) said, punctuating their post with an American flag emoji.

Another wrote, "And all the Democrats who swore Trump would end up in jail are now desperately clutching paper bags to calm down."

And while Trump could technically be tried again once his presidential term ends, many are less than optimistic about the chances of it actually happening — especially since Jack Smith reportedly plans to step down as special counsel next year.

"Stop telling me Jack Smith filed to dismiss all Trump’s charges without prejudice," one X user said. "Those crimes are excused forever. He will commit infinitely worse crimes once he has power. He will never get accountability for any of it. Don’t be so f--king naive."

As of writing, Jack Smith has reportedly called for the federal case accusing Trump of improperly handling and storing classified documents to be dismissed, as well.