Trump prosecutor Jack Smith resigns from Justice Department

(Reuters) -U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the federal cases against Donald Trump on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and mishandling classified documents, resigned as the Republican president-elect prepared to return to the White House. . .

Smith resigned from the Justice Department on Friday, according to a court filing filed Saturday with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, asking her to lift an injunction she issued blocking the release of his final report.

Notice of Smith’s resignation appeared in a footnote in the filing, which said the special counsel had completed his work, submitted his final confidential report on Jan. 7, and had “separated” from the Justice Department on January 10.

Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, brought two of the four criminal cases Trump faced after leaving office, but saw them stall after a Trump-appointed judge in Florida dismissed one and the U.S. Supreme Court, with three judges appointed by Trump. – discovered that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for official acts. None of the cases went to trial.

After Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election, Smith dropped both cases, citing a long-standing Justice Department rule that prohibited prosecuting sitting presidents. In asking the courts to dismiss the charges, Smith’s team defended the merits of the cases they had brought, noting only that Trump’s imminent return to the White House made them unsustainable.

Smith’s departure is another marker of the collapse of criminal cases against Trump, which could end without legal consequences for the incoming president and sparked a backlash that helped fuel his political comeback.

Smith’s resignation from the Justice Department was expected. Trump, who has frequently called Smith “unhinged,” had said he would fire him immediately after taking office on Jan. 20, and has suggested he might seek retaliation against Smith and others who investigated him once he returns to office.

In 2023, Trump became the first sitting or former president of the United States to face criminal prosecution, first in New York, where he was accused of trying to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star during his campaign. Smith’s charges followed, accusing Trump of illegally withholding classified material after leaving office and attempting to overturn his 2020 loss, a campaign that sparked the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 2021. Prosecutors in Georgia also charged Trump for his efforts to overturn his election loss in that state.

TRUMP CLAIMED POLITICAL MOTIVATION

Trump denied any wrongdoing and attacked the prosecutions as politically motivated attempts to damage his campaign. He raised millions in campaign contributions through court appearances and used the cases to push a powerful narrative that the political establishment was against him and his supporters.

The Justice Department defended the cases, saying they were led by career prosecutors who acted free of political influence.

Garland appointed Smith in November 2022, nearly two years after the attack on the Capitol, to lead the Justice Department’s ongoing twin investigations into Trump. That move came just days after Trump announced a campaign to return to the White House in the 2024 election.

Garland, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, said Smith would provide a degree of independence in highly sensitive investigations. Garland had rejected earlier calls to appoint a special prosecutor, insisting he could adequately oversee Trump investigations.

Smith returned to Washington from The Hague, where he prosecuted war crimes cases stemming from the 1998-1999 Kosovo War. He previously headed the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section and worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, developing a reputation as a tenacious investigator.

In The Hague, Smith secured the conviction of Salih Mustafa, a former Kosovo Liberation Army commander who ran a prison where torture was carried out during the conflict.

HISTORICAL FIRST

The indictments, the first federal cases against a former US president, accused Trump of bringing highly sensitive national security documents to his Florida resort and using false claims of election fraud to try to derail the collection and certification of votes after his 2020 election defeat.

“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies: lies by the defendant, aimed at obstructing the fundamental function of the Government of the United States,” Smith said in announcing the election indictment in August 2023, one of only two public appearances he made during his investigation.

Smith faced a shortened deadline to complete both prosecutions, as it was clear Trump could shut them down if he won the election. Both faced legal obstacles.

In the classified documents case, Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee, dismissed all charges in July after ruling that Smith was improperly appointed as a special prosecutor.

Smith’s office appealed that decision. Prosecutors dropped the Trump-related appeal following his election victory, but signaled they will continue trying to revive charges against two Trump associates who were accused of obstructing the investigation.

The election case was on hold for months while Trump’s lawyers filed an appeal for presidential immunity. The U.S. Supreme Court largely sided with Trump in August, ruling that Trump could not be prosecuted for many official acts he performed as president and causing further delays in the case.

Smith acknowledged in court papers that his team faced an “unprecedented circumstance” after Trump won the election over Democrat Kamala Harris. His office concluded that both cases could not proceed.

Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records following a trial in the hush money case in New York, which was brought by state prosecutors. His sentencing was delayed indefinitely after his election victory, and Trump’s lawyers are seeking to have it dismissed entirely.

The Georgia case, which also includes charges against 14 Trump allies, remains in limbo as an appeals court determines whether lead prosecutor Fani Willis should be disqualified for misconduct over a romantic affair with a former high-ranking congressman. The case against Trump is unlikely to move forward while he remains president.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Additional reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Daniel Wallis)