Lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump have asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to remove special counsel Jack Smith from his position and either refuse to release Smith's upcoming report, which will detail him. investigation of the newly elected president Or turn the matter over to Trump's incoming administration, according to a letter released Monday.
The letter, addressed to Garland and a top career Justice Department official, alleged that the special counsel did not have the legal authority to submit a final report summarizing his dual investigation into Trump and called on the Attorney General to “end this weaponization.” requested. “Move forward constructively towards the justice system.” The correspondence was written in part by defense attorneys Todd Blanch and Emile Bowe, who Trump has selected to serve as deputy attorney general and principal deputy attorney general in his upcoming administration.
Smith led two now-closed investigations into the President-elect, one of which related to his alleged efforts to oppose the peaceful transfer of power and Overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election And the second is based on allegations that Trump illegally retained sensitive government records after leaving office in 2021. The investigation resulted in criminal charges against Trump, who have since was dismissedTrump initially pleaded innocent and denied all wrongdoing.
classified document matter Dismissed by a federal judge In Florida which ruled in July 2024 that Garland illegally appointed Smith, the Justice Department disputed that and appealed to the President-elect. The 2020 election-related charges against Trump were dismissed after Trump's re-election. The special counsel wrote that Justice Department policy prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.
Federal rules dictate that upon completion of any special counsel investigation, the investigative team must submit a report detailing its findings to the Attorney General for review. Garland has previously promised to publicly release all special counsel reports completed during his tenure and has so far kept that promise, including appointing a separate special counsel, Robert Hur, to handle President Biden's classified records. This also includes presenting your findings. Mr Biden's legal team raised objections with the Attorney General Features in that reportWhich was rejected by Justice Department officials when the full findings – including the characterization of Mr Biden's age – were released publicly.
Smith is working on a final report to be completed before Trump's inauguration, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News. Sources said that after its presentation, the special counsel is expected to resign as have other independent prosecutors.
In Monday's letter, Trump's lawyers revealed that they had reviewed a draft of Smith's report in the special counsel's office over the past few days and objected, arguing that the preparation of the report would violate federal law related to official appointments and presidential transitions. Will violate the law.
“Because Smith has proposed unlawful action, you should cancel his plan and remove him immediately. If Smith is not removed, consistent with his expressed wishes, his report will be disposed of by President Trump's incoming attorney. Gen. people,” Trump's lawyers wrote. He also said he would seek legal recourse if Garland refused his request.
Should Garland choose to submit the report to Trump's incoming Justice Department for consideration, as the letter suggests, much of the decision-making could fall on the president-elect's current defense team, which is the dominant force within the department. will hold leadership positions, and their Selection for Attorney GeneralFormer Florida Attorney General Pam Bondy.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
The letter to the attorney general was included as an exhibit in a joint effort by Trump's former co-defendants in the classified documents case to ask a court to intervene and block the release of the special counsel's report.
Trump's allies Walt Nauta and former Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos de Oliveira Judge Eileen Cannon was asked to stop the report from being released, arguing that she would “suffer damages in the form of civilian casualties” in the case. The pair were charged along with Trump in an alleged effort to obstruct the investigation into classified documents. Both men pleaded innocent and accused Smith of improper motivation in Monday's letter.
While Smith dropped his appeal of the case against Trump, citing Justice Department policy, he chose to continue appealing Nauta and de Oliveira's case in an effort to overturn the legal precedent created by the Canon decision that Smith was appointed illegally.
On Monday, the men's lawyers appealed to Canon to intervene and prevent the special counsel from completing his report. He alleged that such a move would be inappropriate after the judge had earlier dismissed the case. He also argued that any public release could affect the ongoing appeal and violate the rights of the defendants.
“The final report is meant to serve as a government verdict against the defendants contrary to all criminal justice norms and constitutional guidelines,” the lawyers wrote. “The filing of such a report by an unauthorized person, is clearly inappropriate in this context and, at Counsel Smith's own insistence, would cause serious harm in view of the criminal proceedings pending on appeal.”
A spokesman for Smith declined to comment.
The news comes days after Jay Bratt, the special counsel's top lieutenant, retired from the Justice Department. Bratt, a 34-year-old federal prosecutor and former head of the Justice Department's counterintelligence section, played a key role in the genesis of the classified documents investigation and ran the case against Trump as part of Smith's team.
While no date has been publicly announced for the release of Smith's report, defense attorneys asked Cannon to issue a decision by Friday.
Contributed to this report.