US prosecutors have decided to drop two criminal cases against president-elect Donald Trump.
Special prosecutor Jack Smith has told courts in Washington DC and Florida he is discontinuing the cases, which related to alleged election interference and mishandling of classified documents.
In a motion filed in Washington, he cited a longstanding Department of Justice (DOJ) policy not to prosecute a sitting president.
"The government's position on the merits of the defendant's prosecution has not changed," the motion says.
"But the circumstances have."
What was Trump charged with?
Last year, Mr Smith brought two criminal cases against Trump.
In one, he alleged that Trump had conspired to defraud the US through an illegal scheme to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 election win, and cling on to power himself.
The prosecution argued Trump used "pervasive and destabilising lies" to try to convince the public the election had been rigged. He was also accused of using fraudulent electors to manipulate the electoral college system, and to sign up his vice-president, Mike Pence, to help carry out the scheme.
Trump pleaded not guilty in August last year, a couple of weeks after the charges were brought.
In the second case, in Florida, Mr Smith had attempted to prosecute Trump for illegally retaining classified documents after his time in the White House.
Trump allegedly kept the documents, which contained sensitive national security information, at his Mar-a-Lago estate, and then obstructed government efforts to retrieve them.
A Trump-appointed judge dismissed that case in July, finding that Mr Smith had been unlawfully appointed.
Mr Smith had initially appealed that decision, but has now decided not to pursue that appeal.
After Mr Smith's motions were filed today, Trump used social media to attack the cases as "empty and lawless" and say they "should never have been brought".
"Over $100 million dollars of taxpayer dollars [sic] has been wasted in the Democrat Party's fight against their political opponent, me," he wrote.
"Nothing like this has ever happened in our country before."
Why have the charges been dropped?
Mr Smith's motion to dismiss the election interference case said the decision did "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".
It instead points to the DOJ's long-held belief that the Constitution does not allow a president to be prosecuted:
"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.
"But the department and the country have never faced the circumstance here, where a federal indictment against a private citizen has been returned by a grand jury and a criminal prosecution is already underway when the defendant is elected president.
"Confronted with this unprecedented situation, the Special Counsel's Office consulted with the Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), whose interpretation of constitutional questions such as those raised here is binding on department prosecutors.
"After careful consideration, the department has determined that OLC's prior opinions concerning the Constitution's prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting president apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated."
Trump will return to the White House early next year after a decisive win in the US presidential election this month. His inauguration will be on January 20.
What about the other cases against Trump?
As well as these federal cases, Trump was charged under state law in two separate cases last year.
One of those cases, in Georgia, also related to alleged election interference.
In that state, Trump and 18 of his associates were charged under anti-racketeering laws that are usually directed at outlaw gangs or mafia-style organised crime networks.
That case remains alive, and four of Trump's co-defendants have already pleaded guilty.
But it's been in limbo while Trump's lawyers fight to have District Attorney Fani Willis removed from the case, because she had an "inappropriate" relationship with a lawyer who was contracted to work on it with her.
A hearing set for December 5 was last week cancelled until further notice. Ms Willis has indicated she intended to continue pursuing the case.
The other case, in New York, related to "hush money" paid to porn star Stormy Daniels while Trump was campaigning to win the 2016 election.
In May, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
That verdict stands, but sentencing has been delayed.
Judge Juan Merchan is considering whether to postpone sentencing until after Trump serves his four-year term as president.
Trump's lawyers have indicated they would fight to have the case dismissed completely. They have until December 2 to file their arguments to the New York court.
