Were Trump's felony charges reversed?
Executive summary
Donald Trump no longer faces the federal criminal cases that Special Counsel Jack Smith brought after Smith moved to drop or dismiss those charges following Trump’s 2024 re‑election and related DOJ actions; federal prosecutions were paused or dismissed “without prejudice” in some accounts and others report dismissal after the election [1] [2] [3]. State prosecutions — notably New York’s 34‑count falsified‑records conviction that produced an unconditional discharge and Georgia’s racketeering case that was later dropped — have seen varied outcomes: a January 2025 unconditional discharge in New York and dismissal of Georgia charges in late November 2025 [4] [5] [6] [2].
1. What “reversed” means and what the reporting actually shows
The question whether Trump’s felony charges were “reversed” conflates distinct legal actions: convictions being overturned on appeal, charges dismissed by prosecutors, or cases paused because of presidential status. Available reporting documents dismissals, withdrawals and an unconditional discharge — not a broad appellate reversal of his New York conviction — and multiple sources explicitly note no record of an overturned conviction [7] [4] [2].
2. The New York falsified‑records case: conviction, discharge, not an appellate reversal
Trump was convicted in New York in May 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records; reporting shows a judge issued an unconditional discharge on January 10, 2025 — meaning no prison, probation or fines — but that is not the same as an appellate court overturning the conviction [4] [2]. Fact‑checkers searched for any news of a successful overturn and found none [7].
3. Federal cases: dropped or paused after reelection and DOJ policy questions
Special Counsel Jack Smith moved to drop or pause federal cases after Trump’s 2024 re‑election, often citing that indicting a sitting president presents legal and policy barriers; some reports say charges were dismissed or dropped following the election [1] [3]. FRONTLINE and TIME recount Smith’s request to dismiss the federal case “without prejudice,” which would allow refiling after Trump left office, and they note Smith later resigned [2] [1].
4. Georgia racketeering case: prosecutor removed and charges later dropped
Georgia’s sweeping racketeering case faced its own procedural twists: prosecutor Fani Willis was disqualified by a Georgia appeals court and the case’s future was in flux; later reporting says the Georgia prosecutor dropped all criminal charges against Trump and co‑defendants on Nov. 26, 2025 [5] [6] [4]. That action ended that particular state prosecution, according to Reuters and The Guardian [6] [5].
5. Conflicting accounts and areas the sources don’t cover
Sources differ in emphasis and timeline: some describe dismissals tied to presidential immunity and DOJ policy [3] [1], others emphasize state court developments and dismissals [5] [6]. Available sources do not mention any single, unified judicial decision that “reversed” all felony findings against Trump, nor do they report that his New York conviction was vacated on appeal [7] [4].
6. What “without prejudice,” pardons and immunity mean in practice
When prosecutors dismiss charges “without prejudice,” as Smith reportedly requested, charges can be refiled later; that procedural posture is distinct from a court finding that the original convictions were invalid [2]. Separate tools — presidential pardons and the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling referenced in commentary — complicate post‑election prosecutions; commentators and opinion pieces argue these developments make future prosecutions more difficult, but those analyses are legal and political interpretations, not uniform case law reversals [8] [1].
7. Bottom line for readers
Reporting shows a mix of prosecutorial withdrawals, dismissals and a judicial unconditional discharge — outcomes that removed immediate legal penalties or halted prosecutions — but no clear, single appellate reversal of Trump’s New York felony conviction is documented in the available sources [2] [7] [4]. Different outlets stress different mechanisms (prosecutor decisions, immunity questions, court disqualification), so the accurate description is: some charges were dropped or paused and one state conviction resulted in an unconditional discharge, but sources do not show a wholesale judicial overturning of his felony convictions [5] [6] [2].