By
Special counsel Jack Smith, who pursued two federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump, has resigned from the Justice Department.
News about Smith’s resignation was tucked into a brief filed Saturday by the DOJ that requested U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon decline to extend a court order blocking the release of his final report on the Trump investigations. The special counsel “separated” from the DOJ on Friday, according to the brief, three days after submitting the report to the department.
Politico first reported the detail about Smith’s departure.
Smith’s resignation comes as no surprise. NBC News reported in November, citing a source familiar with the matter, that Smith and his team intended to step down before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith in 2022 to lead the federal investigations into Trump over his election interference efforts and his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office. Smith subsequently became a major Trump target; during the election campaign, Trump vowed that if he returned to the White House, he would fire Smith.
Both federal cases were ultimately dismissed. Cannon threw out the classified documents case in July after ruling that Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution. After Trump’s election win, Smith asked to dismiss the election interference case, citing DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
But Smith may yet have the last word. The Justice Department is expected to release his final report in the coming days.