Special Counsel Jack Smith resigned from his position at the Justice Department on Friday, Fox News reported.
The resignation, which had already been expected since President-elect Trump was elected in November, was quietly announced Saturday in a footnote to a court filing.
“The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and became independent from the Department on January 10,” the memo said.
Smith was appointed by the Attorney General merrick garland In November 2022, to investigate the 2020 election interference case against Trump related to January 6th and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. In 2017, Mr. Smith served as acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee during the first Trump administration.
Trump plans to 'immediately' repeal Biden's 'ridiculous' ban on new oil and gas drilling off US coasts
In November, Special Counsel Jack Smith asked that charges against President Trump alleging interference in the certification of the 2020 election be dropped. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The news comes as the country awaits the release of Smith's report on election interference. Recent court filings reveal that Garland plans to release his report soon, possibly before President Trump takes office on January 20th.
On Friday, a federal appeals court judge ruled not to block the release of Smith's report.
“As I have made clear for every special counsel I have served with since taking office, I am committed to making the special counsel's report as public as possible, consistent with legal requirements and Department policy. ” Garland wrote in a recent letter. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
President Trump presses Republicans to quickly send 'one strong bill' for signature
Jack Smith speaks at a press conference in Washington, DC in 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
After Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, Smith filed a motion to reduce his lawsuit against the president-elect. In late November, Smith asked a judge to dismiss the charges. President-elect Donald Trump In the DC lawsuit against him.
Before asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed, Mr. Smith filed a motion in Washington, D.C., to override all deadlines in the 2020 election interference lawsuit against Mr. Trump, a decision widely expected in the wake of Mr. Trump's victory. It was what I was looking for. After the lawsuit was dropped, President Trump responded to the move by claiming that the investigation “should never have been filed.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The special counsel's resignation comes as the report is expected to be released, likely before President-elect Trump takes office on January 20th. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“These lawsuits, like all the others I have been forced to undergo, are empty and lawless and should never have been filed,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. said. “This was a political hijacking, and it was a low point in our nation's history that something like this could happen. But I persevered against all odds, and I won. I will make America great again.” Do it!”
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
