Special Counsel Jack Smith resigned from the Justice Department on Friday, days after concluding his criminal investigation into President-elect Donald Trump and ahead of Inauguration Day.
According to a footnote in Submission to court Smith, whose case was referred to U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon on Saturday afternoon, concluded his investigation on Tuesday and was scheduled to leave the Justice Department on Friday. In a court filing, Justice Department officials asked Cannon not to extend a court order issued in January that temporarily blocked Smith's report from being released to Trump. Ta. (Related: FBI brought in props to stage infamous Trump crime scene photo)
CBS News reported It was revealed in November that Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead the Trump investigation in 2022 and plans to step down after completing his role.
Special Counsel Jack Smith speaks about the recently unsealed indictment containing four felonies against former President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. Trump was charged with four felonies for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Both of Smith's lawsuits were dismissed after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, but it remains unclear whether the reports will be made public. On Thursday, two days after Smith finished work, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an effort by Smith to block the release of a report by Trump's co-defendants in the classified documents investigation. . After the decision, Cannon left an order restricting the release of the report until Sunday.
President Trump sought in court Wednesday to block the release of the report. Easy. At that time, the Ministry of Justice shown It said it would only release the first part of the Smith report, which examined the 2020 election and President Trump's potential actions to overturn it. Despite indicating its intention to release the first half, the Justice Department decided to hold off on the portion dealing with the classified documents case while the lawsuit of Mr. Trump's co-defendants continues.
