Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to take over two investigations into President-elect Donald Trump, has resigned, according to a Justice Department court filing submitted on Saturday.
According to court documents, Smith “separated from the Department on January 10.” The revelation was made in a federal court filing amid an ongoing dispute between Justice Department officials and defense attorneys tied to the president-elect over the release of one volume of Smith’s two-volume report.
Attorneys for Trump’s former codefendants Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira have sought to extend an order by Judge Aileen Cannon barring the Justice Department from releasing a portion of Smith’s report.
Regulations require special counsels to submit a report to the attorney general detailing their investigative findings and prosecutorial decisions. Garland has pledged to release to the public all reports completed under his tenure and has so far done so, including after an investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified records.
Court filings earlier this week revealed Smith had submitted a two-volume report to Garland on Jan. 7, just days after attorneys for Trump and his codefendants reviewed a draft report.
Trump’s attorneys subsequently wrote a letter to Garland asking him to remove Smith from his post and prevent the release of the report, according to court filings.
Following the review, attorneys for Trump’s codefendants asked Cannon, who initially dismissed one of Smith’s cases against Trump in July, and judges on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to stop Garland from releasing the report.
Smith was appointed in November of 2022 to take over two Justice Department investigations into Trump, one related to his conduct after the 2020 presidential election, and another tied to his handling of classified records after he left office. Both cases resulted in criminal charges against Trump. He pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
Smith’s dual cases against Trump were ultimately closed last year after Trump won the presidential election. Prosecutors wrote that Justice Department regulations forbid the prosecution of a sitting president.
The special counsel at the time opted to keep an appeal of Cannon’s dismissal of the classified documents investigation open in the cases of Nauta and de Oliveira. It was in this case that their attorneys sought to prevent the release of the report, arguing doing so would prejudice their case.
In response, the Justice Department revealed that the attorney general would not release the volume of the report dealing with the classified documents probe until the case is completely closed, and instead, it would make it available to a select group of members of Congress.
Still, the defense attorneys and Trump’s legal team have urged the federal courts to stop the release of the other portion of the report detailing Smith’s probe into the 2020 election.
Right now, the report remains unreleased after Cannon ordered the Justice Department to keep the report under wraps until at least Sunday. Judges on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump codefendants’ bid to further enjoin prosecutors from releasing the report.
Defense attorneys have now asked Cannon to extend her order forbidding the report’s release, a move the Justice Department opposes.
Impact On Ongoing Legal Matters
Smith’s exit comes at a pivotal moment for the DOJ as it navigates complex legal disputes surrounding the release of his report. While Garland has expressed a commitment to transparency, he also indicated that portions related to classified documents may not be made public until ongoing criminal cases against Trump’s associates are resolved.
The upcoming weeks are crucial for assessing how this transition will impact both public access to information and the legal strategies employed by the DOJ.
Trump has publicly criticized Smith following his resignation, labeling him a “disgrace” and claiming that he accomplished nothing during his tenure as special counsel. Such remarks highlight the contentious atmosphere surrounding these investigations and underscore the political ramifications that continue to unfold.
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