US Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who led federal cases against Donald Trump over the overturning of the 2020 presidential election results and mishandling of classified documents, resigned from the Department of Justice on Friday, according to a statement filed with the court. This is reported by CNN, UNN reports.
Details
Smith's resignation came amid a legal battle to prevent Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing a special counsel's report on his investigation into then-President Donald Trump's attempts to cancel the 2020 presidential election and alleged misuse of classified documents after Trump left office.
Smith submitted his final two-volume report to the attorney general on Tuesday. Garland has made it clear that he is not going to release the part of the report that deals with the investigation of classified documents, but believes it should eventually become public.
It is noted that Smith's office has been in the process of liquidation for several weeks, and his resignation before Trump takes office is not unexpected. In addition to finalizing its report and sending it to the attorney general, Smith's team also transferred the appeal of the special counsel's office's authority to other lawyers in the Justice Department and closed two federal criminal cases against Trump due to his return to the presidency.
The Attorney General has also informed congressional committee leaders that he intends to provide them with confidential access to Smith's volume in the classified documents case, making this weekend and next week crucial to the realization of Attorney General Garland's transparency intentions
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is fighting in court with Trump and his former co-defendants over whether the Smith report can be released as time runs out before the January 20 inauguration. Trump plans to appoint some members of his defense team, who argued in court against the report's release, to senior positions in the Justice Department.
On Friday, an appeals court rejected a request by Trump and his allies to keep the report secret. Since then, the Justice Department has appealed a temporary restraining order that Judge Eileen Cannon had placed on the report's publication, and the former defendants have asked her to extend the order, which would otherwise expire on Sunday night.
As the trial continues, the Justice Department may release the first volume of the Smith report to the public on Sunday or Monday. However, Cannon has asked the Justice Department to provide him with additional information by Sunday morning about what is contained in the first volume and whether it is relevant to the classified documents case.
Smith was appointed by Garland to take charge of the investigation in November 2022, after Trump announced his campaign for re-election. A former federal prosecutor, Smith most recently served as a war crimes prosecutor in The Hague.
In 2023, he filed charges against Trump in both investigations, but they failed legally, and after Trump's victory, the newly elected president was removed from office.
The report has the potential to be Smith's last word on what his investigations found and the legal arguments behind them. Aside from the current legal battle, there are other ways the report could become public. Congress can take action to obtain the report or information from it. There is also the possibility of Freedom of Information Act requests and lawsuits arising from those requests forcing disclosure of the report's details.
Trump's former co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, argue that the report should not be released to Congress or the public, as it could be damaging if the indictment against them, which was dismissed by Judge Cannon on the grounds that Smith was unconstitutionally appointed, is reopened by an appeals court.
The DOJ's new filing rejects this argument, pointing to Garland's decision not to make the report public and noting that lawmakers who are allowed to review it, under Garland's plan, would be prohibited from sharing the details of the report.
Trump and his allies also argue that Cannon's decision to disqualify Smith deprived him of the authority to write the report and prevents Garland from making it public.
Recall
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who led the cases against Trump for election interference and mishandling of classified documents, announced dismissal of the charges in court filings.