Special counsel Jack Smith filed a motion on Monday to drop his election subversion case against President-elect Donald Trump, citing the election and precedents that suggest that a sitting president cannot be criminally charged. Mr. Smith indicated that he spoke with the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and decided to dismiss the complaint prior to the inauguration. He noted that the prohibition on prosecuting Mr. Trump applies to this case, in which the president-elect was charged as a private citizen but was chosen for the White House job while the prosecution was underway.

That prohibition 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 government stands fully behind,” Mr. Smith wrote in a filing to a federal court in Washington.The indictment accused Mr. Trump of conspiring against the U.S. and its voters by taking steps to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden.

“That prohibition is categorical and does not depend on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s evidence, or the merits of the prosecution, which the government fully supports,” Mr. Smith said in a submission to a federal court in Washington. The indictment accused Mr. Trump of plotting against the United States and its citizens by attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat to President Biden.