WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith has officially stepped down from the Justice Department after presenting his investigative findings regarding President-elect Donald Trump. His resignation, anticipated by many, comes just days ahead of the incoming administration as discussions intensify over the potential release of his report, which details the findings of his investigations.
The Justice Department confirmed Smith’s resignation through a court document filed on Saturday, stating that he left the department the day prior. This departure occurs 10 days before Trump assumes office and follows the conclusion of two separate criminal cases against Trump that were dropped following his election victory in November.
The focus now shifts to Smith’s two-volume report, which delves into his investigations concerning Trump’s attempts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election and his alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Initially, the Justice Department intended to make this report public during the last stages of the Biden administration. However, a judge appointed by Trump, presiding over the classified documents matter, granted a defense motion that temporarily prevents the report from being released. Trump’s co-defendants in the case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, claimed that disclosing the report could unfairly bias public opinion against them, with Trump’s legal team supporting this viewpoint.
In response, the Justice Department decided to withhold the classified documents portion of the report while legal proceedings involving Nauta and De Oliveira continue. Despite U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissing the case in July, the appellate court continues to review an appeal regarding the two co-defendants.
However, prosecutors plan to move forward with the release of the election interference portion of the report. In an urgent motion filed late Friday, they requested the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to expedite the lifting of a restriction imposed by Cannon that prevented any part of the report from being made public. In a subsequent notification to Cannon, the prosecutors asserted that she lacked the jurisdiction to obstruct the report’s release, prompting her to order them to submit another brief by Sunday.
On Thursday night, the appeals court rejected a last-minute request from the defense to stop the release of the election interference report, which examines Trump’s actions leading up to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot aimed at overturning the election results. Nonetheless, the court upheld Cannon’s injunction, stipulating that none of the report’s findings could be released until the appeals court resolves the matter within three days.
In their emergency filing, the Justice Department criticized Cannon’s ruling as “plainly erroneous.” They emphasized that the Attorney General, as the Senate-confirmed leader of the department, possesses the authority to oversee its personnel and determine the dissemination of investigative reports created by them.
Furthermore, regulations from the Justice Department mandate that special counsels implement reports at the close of their investigations, which are typically expected to be made public, regardless of the specific topic. During Trump’s presidency, Attorney General William Barr released a special counsel report concerning Russian interference in the 2016 election and its possible connections to Trump’s campaign. Similarly, current Attorney General Merrick Garland has also published reports from special counsels, including those addressing the former vice president’s management of classified documents prior to assuming the presidency.
