On Saturday, January 11, 2025, CBS News reported that Jack Smith, the special counsel who led investigations into President-elect Donald Trump, resigned from the Justice Department. This announcement was made through a court filing, which indicated that Smith had separated from the Department on January 10. His resignation comes after he completed his responsibilities related to two significant investigations into Trump’s conduct before and after the 2020 presidential election.
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to oversee these inquiries, which included one focused on Trump’s actions following the election and another concerning his handling of classified documents after leaving office. These investigations culminated in criminal charges against Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to all allegations.
The court documents revealed that Smith submitted a two-volume report to Garland on January 7, shortly after Trump’s legal team reviewed a draft report. Following this review, Trump’s attorneys sent a letter to Garland requesting Smith’s removal and urging that the release of the report be halted. This request arose amid ongoing disputes regarding the release of information pertinent to the investigations.
The legal representatives for Trump’s former associates, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, have sought to extend a court order that prevents the Justice Department from making portions of Smith’s report public. The order was issued by Judge Aileen Cannon, who previously dismissed one of Smith’s cases against Trump. The attorneys have argued that releasing the report could harm their client’s legal interests.
As mandated by regulations, special counsels are required to submit comprehensive reports detailing their investigative findings and any prosecutorial decisions to the attorney general. Attorney General Garland has committed to making all reports from his tenure available to the public, consistent with transparency, as seen with the report on President Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Reports indicate that Smith’s dual investigations into Trump were ultimately closed last year due to a Justice Department policy that prohibits prosecuting a sitting president. Nevertheless, Smith’s office maintained an appeal against Cannon’s dismissal of the classified documents case in relation to Nauta and de Oliveira. In this particular instance, their attorneys are trying to prevent the release of the report, claiming it could bias their defense.
In response, the Justice Department has stated that it will not release the section of the report related to the classified documents investigation until the case is fully resolved. Instead, this information will be made available to a select group of congressional members.
Currently, the report remains under wraps after Judge Cannon directed the Justice Department to withhold it. Meanwhile, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected attempts by Trump’s co-defendants to further block the release of the report.
Defense attorneys have now requested that Cannon extend her order barring the report’s release, a move that the Justice Department opposes.
Source: CBS News
