Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy stated on Friday that Special Counsel Jack Smith had demonstrated that the prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump were being used as political weapons.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted Smith’s request to vacate deadlines in the federal election interference case. McCarthy argued that Trump’s victory in the November 5 presidential election rendered the prosecutions unsustainable.

“They’re taking the position that the long-standing office of legal counsel guidance at the Justice Department [that] basically says that you can neither indict nor prosecute a sitting president,” McCarthy told “America Reports” co-host Sandra Smith.

“They are conceding that President-elect Trump will be certified, that is, at the joint session of Congress which as we all know now, will be January 6th. His victory will be ratified, state-certified electoral votes will be ratified, and he will, for all intents and purposes, be a sitting president as of January 20th. And they are taking the position that under those circumstances, the cases shouldn’t go forward,” McCarthy added.

“They could have suspended them, but I think they’re taking the position this is dismissal,” McCarthy continued. “I think that underscores that lawfare was really all about preventing Trump from winning. Now that he has won, there’s no point in it.”

In August, Smith secured a superseding indictment against Trump, nearly two months after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trump’s claims of immunity in a case related to a previous indictment by Smith over Trump’s efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election.

On July 27, 2023, Smith unsealed another superseding indictment, this time regarding allegations that Trump retained classified materials. This followed a 37-count grand jury indictment against Trump and his aide Walter Nauta in June 2023.

Trump also faces a potential sentencing date of November 26 in Manhattan for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. However, New York Judge Juan Merchan is set to rule on motions to set aside the jury verdict on November 12.

“There’s a state component to lawfare as well. Judge Juan Merchan, who is the presiding judge in the so-called hush money case in Manhattan, is supposed to rule next Tuesday on Trump’s motion to vacate the guilty verdicts, including the immunity claims,” McCarthy continued.

“So we’ll get a good read on whether the lesson has been assimilated by the end of Tuesday, when we see what Judge [Merchan] does. Because if he denies Trump’s motions, he has signaled he may try to sentence Trump by November 26. I sure hope that doesn’t happen,” he said.