The Daily Fuckup

By Nov. 25, 2023, Donald Trump’s federal election-interference case was still active and still part of the political backdrop to his campaign. Special counsel Jack Smith had unsealed the indictment on Aug. 1, 2023, charging Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. Smith said the case was built around lies aimed at the process of collecting, counting and certifying the presidential vote. The indictment was only an accusation, not a verdict, but it kept the former president tied to a criminal case rooted in his effort to reverse the 2020 election result. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith/speech/special-counsel-jack-smith-delivers-statement-0))

As of that date, the case remained in district court. The later Supreme Court stay application in the immunity fight was not docketed until Feb. 12, 2024, so the procedural posture on Nov. 25, 2023 was still well before that stage. In plain terms: the case had not yet moved into the later Supreme Court stay proceedings, and it was still pending below. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23a745.html))

That left Trump running for office with a live federal prosecution still in the background. The legal case did not decide the election, and it did not resolve his guilt or innocence. But it did keep the post-2020 fight in view while he campaigned, forcing voters and rivals alike to confront a candidacy wrapped around allegations that he tried to interfere with the transfer of power. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith/speech/special-counsel-jack-smith-delivers-statement-0))