Special prosecutor Jack Smith has completed his work on two criminal investigations into President-Elect Donald Trump and resigned on Friday from the Department of Justice.
The news of Smith’s departure came in a filing submitted to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Saturday afternoon, asking her not to extend an order she issued last week, temporarily blocking the publication of Smith’s final report, which Smith had submitted to department leaders on Tuesday.
Department of Justice officials stated that Cannon’s order exceeded her authority and that she had no power to prevent Attorney General Merrick Garland from publishing Smith’s findings. Her order blocking the release of Smith’s report remains in effect until Monday.
Garland has stated that he plans to release only the portion of Smith’s report concerning his investigation into Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. In court documents, the Attorney General has agreed with Smith’s recommendation to keep the rest of the report — which covers the investigation into Trump’s possession of a number of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in 2021 — sealed due to ongoing efforts by prosecutors to revive a criminal case against two of Trump’s allies and former co-defendants. Instead, Garland plans to share that part of the report only with a small group of Congressional members.
Smith’s resignation before the end of President Joe Biden’s term was anticipated and had been signaled by other Department of Justice officials. Trump has repeatedly called for Smith to be prosecuted for his handling of cases against him and even suggested that he should be expelled from the United States.
Smith’s departure marks the end of one of the most extraordinary and tumultuous chapters in the history of the Department of Justice, leading to serious criminal charges against Trump, the first former president ever to face criminal prosecution.
However, both cases brought by Smith were obstructed by the courts. Cannon dismissed the documents case in July, ruling that Garland did not have the authority to appoint Smith initially. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court delayed the 2020 election case for months, while it considered Trump’s claim to immunity from charges — resulting in a historic decision granting broad presidential immunity.
