Special Counsel Jack Smith is in talks with senior Justice Department officials about how to end his two federal criminal cases against the president-elect Donald Trump Consistent with the Department's long-standing policy that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, Sources told ABC News.

CNN had previously reportedBased on sources close to Smith and the DOJ, the special counsel would likely continue pursuing cases against Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection and his mishandling of classified documents even if the former president won a return to the office .

“He's not going to be the one to say, 'I'm going to fold up the tent,'” a former Justice Department official told CNN.

However, contrary to his predicted resistance, it now appears that Smith will instead seek to complete the proceedings.

Trump has said he would “fire” Smith “within two seconds” if elected, although he cannot do so until he officially takes office in January 2025. CNN had suggested that Smith would consider his options in the months before Trump's inauguration.

Sources had told NBC News reported that Justice Department leadership was grappling with the reality that a trial of a sitting president is simply not feasible, especially since both cases are mired in their own legal problems.

Trump, who was sentenced of 34 criminal charges in a separate case related to his hush-money payments to a porn star, had managed to delay the trial until after the election, where a win will make any sort of punishment against him an uphill battle.

The classified documents case was dismissed by a judge in July, but Smith announced The following month he announced that he would appeal the decision. Meanwhile, Trump was granted a postponement of proceedings related to his January 6 case and the sentencing of his hush money case.

The latter was scheduled for a hearing in September, but Trump's legal team managed to postpone the hearing until after the election.

According to CNN, Trump's victory last night means the conviction could be overturned in line with the Supreme Court's ruling from the summer provided incumbent presidents have a certain level of immunity from prosecution. Judge Juan Merchan has given himself until November 12 to make this decision.

Even if the conviction stands, legal experts have done so predicted that Trump is unlikely to be convicted before he leaves office in January 2029.