Special Counsel Jack Smith officially resigned from the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday. The details were buried in court filings as the Justice Department presses to release its final report on the investigation into President-elect Trump.
“The special counsel completed his work on January 7, 2025, filed his final confidential report, and became independent of the Department on January 10,” Justice Department officials wrote in a footnote to Saturday's court filing. did.
Mr. Smith indicated in a court filing late last year that he planned to resign after Mr. Trump's victory forced the Justice Department to drop charges in both ongoing cases, leaving the incumbent president He pointed to internal regulations that prohibit the prosecution of criminals.
But his resignation comes amid a bitter legal battle between Trump and two of his co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago case. They are seeking to block the release of the same volume of Smith's report, as well as another volume reviewing Trump's efforts to stop Smith's case. transfer of power.
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 after President Trump announced his intention to seek re-election.
The appointment puts him in charge of overseeing an ongoing investigation into Trump's mishandling of classified records at his Florida home and election interference scandals.
His appointment came as the Justice Department turned a corner on two investigations and filed unprecedented charges against Trump in both cases later that summer. Trump has argued that the criminal case against him is a form of political persecution, and the case became a cornerstone of his 2024 campaign.
But in both cases, we hit a major roadblock.
Florida-based U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon threw out the charges against Trump and two co-defendants, overturning 50 years of precedent on special counsel appointments, finding that Smith was illegally appointed. .
The Justice Department has appealed the ruling against two of Trump's co-conspirators in the case, and the matter is before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
And on Jan. 6, Trump's numerous appeals in election interference cases, including issues later heard by the Supreme Court, ruled that former presidents retain broad immunity from prosecution even after leaving office. Prosecution was delayed.
Mr. Trump's reelection prompted a surge in ongoing cases, but Mr. Smith still planned to release a final report, which will be drafted once all special counsels have completed their work.
For Trump's critics, the two-volume report was the last chance to hold the former president accountable, having otherwise avoided a lengthy legal battle over two criminal charges.
However, the release of Smith's final work was canceled due to actions by President Trump and his co-defendants Walt Nauta, property manager Carlos de Oliveira, and others.
Garland said he would not release the “Mar-a-Lago” version of the report given the ongoing lawsuits against Nauta and de Oliveira, but otherwise it will be released in January. The 6th edition was scheduled to be released.
The men turned again to Cannon and the 11th Circuit. The Court of Appeals denied an emergency motion to block the report's release, but blocked the release of the report unless Cannon released it for an additional three days after the Eleventh Circuit's ruling.
Because the case no longer predates Cannon, the case has become a confusing legal battle, with the Justice Department arguing that Cannon no longer has any authority over the case and filing a lawsuit against the Eleventh Circuit. It calls for the three-day delay she imposed to release the report to be reversed.
The Justice Department also said the Jan. 6 report did not implicate President Trump's two co-defendants and Cannon never supervised the case, so the men and Cannon did not have a Jan. 6 report. They claim that they have no right to seek to block the publication of the report.
Late Saturday, Cannon ordered Nauta and de Oliveira to comply with the Justice Department's efforts to lift the orders by Sunday morning.
But further press conferences would delay legal issues complicated by Trump's inauguration.
After taking office, President Trump's Justice Department is expected to drop charges against his two co-defendants and shelve Smith's work, making it unavailable to the public.
Updated at 6pm EST.
