Trump prosecutor Jack Smith resigns from Justice Dept; Prez-elect claims DOJ fired special counsel
US Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the federal cases against Donald Trump on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling of classified documents, has resigned, as the Republican president-elect prepared to return to the White House. Smith resigned on January 10 from the Department of Justice, according to a court filing on Saturday to US District Judge Aileen Cannon, asking her to lift a court order she issued blocking the release of his final report. Notice of Smith’s resignation came in a footnote in the filing, which said the Special Counsel had completed his work, submitted his final confidential report on January 7, and “separated” from the Justice Department on January 10. The former war crimes prosecutor, Smith brought two of the four criminal cases Trump faced after leaving office but saw them grind to a halt after a Trump-appointed judge in Florida dismissed one and the US Supreme Court — with three justices appointed by Trump — found that former presidents have sweeping immunity from prosecution for official acts. Neither case went to trial. After Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election, Smith dropped both cases, citing a longstanding Justice Department rule against prosecuting sitting presidents.
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