Left: Jack Smith speaks about an indictment of former President Donald Trump, Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin). Right: Trump waits for the start of proceedings in his trial at Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, Pool).
Special counsel Jack Smith will be wrapping up his investigations into Donald Trump and resigning from his post before the president-elect takes office, effectively thwarting Trump’s pledge to fire the appointed prosecutor “within two seconds” of moving back into the White House.
The New York Times on Wednesday reported that Smith and his team are aiming to finish up their investigations and step down without leaving any critical aspects of the work for the next administration, citing “people familiar with” Smith’s plan. The sources also reportedly told the Times that one of Smith’s goals is to be out before Trump’s January inauguration.
While there is not currently a detailed timeline in place, Smith has reportedly informed prosecutors and law enforcement agents involved in the investigations that they should expect to be leaving the team in the coming weeks.
Smith, who was appointed as special counsel two years ago, has been spearheading two federal criminal investigations into Trump. One, in Florida, involving Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents following his first term in office, and another, in Washington, D.C., involving his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The Department of Justice is in the process of evaluating how to best wind down both of Smith’s investigations due to the DOJ’s long-standing policy of not indicting or prosecuting a sitting president
The Florida case was dismissed in July by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon. The Trump-appointed judge reasoned that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland unlawfully appointed Smith. As a result, Cannon dismissed the classified documents prosecution, tying the special counsel’s case up in appeals until the election. The case is currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
In the Washington case, Smith earlier this month asked the court to vacate any and all briefing dates remaining on the docket’s schedule.
“As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025,” the unopposed motion to vacate reads. “The Government respectfully requests that the Court vacate the remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”
The presiding judge in that case, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, granted Smith’s request to halt proceedings for a month.
DOJ policy mandates that Smith file a summary report with the attorney general showing the results of his team’s investigation, which would effectively be the culmination of his stint as special counsel. Garland has already signaled that he plans to make a redacted version of that report public, assuming he is still in office by the time the report is vetted.
Trump has previously levied personal attacks against Smith and promised to fire him on his first day back in office, saying he did not think the move would result in him being impeached.
“No, I don’t think they’ll impeach me if [I] fire Jack Smith. Jack Smith is a scoundrel,” Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last month. “He’s a very dishonest man, in my opinion, very dishonest man. And he’s a mean man. He’s a mean man, but his problem is, he’s so mean that he always goes too far like the raid of Mar-a-Lago.”
The Times report comes on the heels of Trump allies calling on the federal government to ensure that the work of Smith and his team is preserved, signaling that Republican lawmakers will likely be targeting the special counsel’s investigation as they take over all three branches of government in January.
Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent Smith a letter stating the committee was “concerned” that the special counsel’s office “may attempt to purge” records relevant to the committee’s request for information and documents.
“You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry,” Jordan wrote.
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