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Donald Trump could have been convicted at trial for seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election had it not been for his victory in last year’s polls, according to the special counsel who spearheaded federal cases against the president-elect.

Jack Smith, a federal prosecutor, was appointed by US attorney-general Merrick Garland in 2022 as special counsel to oversee cases against Trump. He obtained two indictments against the former president, one of which accused Trump of meddling with the result of the 2020 polls.

But Smith ultimately moved to dismiss both proceedings following Trump’s victory in the 2024 election based on a long-standing justice department policy that bars the prosecution of sitting presidents.    

This view “is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office stands fully behind”, Smith wrote in a report released early on Tuesday.

“Indeed, but for Mr Trump’s election and imminent return to the Presidency, the [special counsel’s] Office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Smith added.

A spokesperson for Trump, who has denied wrongdoing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing story