With President-elect Donald Trump now set to take the Oval Office again in January, special prosecutor Jack Smith, who has headed the two federal cases against Trump, will likely resign before then.
People who are aware of Smith’s plans told The New York Times that he plans to finish his work before the president-elect takes office and acts on his promise to “fire him within two seconds,” a vow Trump made in a phone interview with a news organization. “He’ll be one of the first things addressed.”
Department of Justice rules require Smith to present a report of his work to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland before resigning. Garland assigned Smith to two cases against Trump. One pertains to classified documents found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate following his time in office. The second accuses Trump and his allies of spreading election fraud lies and pressuring state officials to overturn his loss in 2020 to President Joe Biden.
Before he leaves his post, Smith will have to decide how to close both of his cases. A federal judge in Florida dropped the classified documents case, which Smith then appealed that decision. The election fraud case is still active in Washington, D.C., but is unlikely to gain any traction. On Nov. 8, a judge granted Smith’s request to annul all remaining deadlines in that case.
Since Smith filed the two indictments against Trump in August 2023, the former president has managed to delay legal proceedings over the past year. This includes the Supreme Court’s decision last summer granting Trump — and all presidents, past and future — immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions taken while he was in office.
Regarding Trump’s recent win for the White House against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Smith said in a filing that he would need “to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy,” per The New York Times.
Last week, Fox News first reported that the House Judiciary Committee is concerned Smith and his team will “purge” all evidence in the cases against Trump to “skirt oversight” and has demanded they “produce to Congress all documents related to the probes before the end of the month.”