Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to handle two investigations into President-elect Donald Trump in November 2022, has resigned, according to the Justice Department. filed in court Submitted on Saturday.
CBS News recently reported Smith will resign from the Justice Department after completing his assignment.
According to court documents, Smith “separated from the department on January 10.” This revelation was made in a petition filed in a federal court amid ongoing controversy Justice Department officials and defense lawyers tied to the president-elect over the release of one section of Smith's two-volume report.
Lawyers for Trump's former co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira has asked for To proceed with an order Judge Aileen Canon Preventing the Justice Department from releasing a portion of Smith's report.
Regulations require special counsels to submit a report to the Attorney General detailing their investigative findings and prosecutorial decisions. Garland promised to release to the public all reports completed during his tenure and has so far done so, including post-investigation reports Under the administration of President Biden Of classified records.
Court filings earlier this week revealed that Smith submitted a two-volume report to Garland on Jan. 7, just days after lawyers for Trump and his co-defendants reviewed a draft report. According to court filings, Trump's lawyers later wrote a letter to Garland asking him to remove Smith from his post and prevent the release of the report.
After the review, lawyers for Trump's co-defendants asked Cannon, who initially rejected In July one of Smith's cases against Trump, and judges at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, blocked Garland from releasing the report.
Smith was appointed to take over two Justice Department investigations related to Trump in November 2022 his conduct After the 2020 presidential election, and another The case concerns his handling of classified records after he left office. Both cases resulted in criminal charges against Trump. He pleaded innocent and denied any wrongdoing.
Smith had dual cases against Trump finally closed After Trump won the presidential election last year. Prosecutors wrote that Justice Department rules prevent prosecuting a sitting president.
At that time the Special Counsel opted to keep open an appeal of Canon's dismissal of the investigation of classified documents in the cases of Nauta and de Oliveira. His lawyers in the case had sought to block the release of the report, arguing that doing so would adversely affect his case.
In response, the Justice Department revealed that the Attorney General would not release the volume of the report related to the investigation of classified documents until the case was fully closed, and would instead make it available to a select group of members of Congress. Will be done.
Nevertheless, defense lawyers and Trump's legal team have urged federal courts to block the release of the second part of the report detailing Smith's investigation into the 2020 election.
As of now, the report has not been released after Canon ordered the Justice Department to keep it secret until at least Sunday. Judges on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an effort by Trump's co-defendants to block prosecutors from releasing the report.
Defense lawyers have now asked Canon to extend its order blocking release of the report, a move the Justice Department opposes.