WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Jack Smith has officially resigned from his position at the Justice Department after submitting his investigative report concerning President-elect Donald Trump. This expected departure happens alongside ongoing discussions about how much of the report can be made public.
The Justice Department announced Smith’s resignation in a court filing on Saturday, indicating that he had left his role the previous day. His exit comes just ten days before Trump’s inauguration, following the dismissal of two criminal cases against Trump that were dropped after his November election victory.
Attention is currently on a two-volume report prepared by Smith and his team, which outlines their investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and the handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Originally, there was an expectation that the Justice Department would release this report before the conclusion of the Biden administration. However, a judge appointed by Trump, who is overseeing the classified documents case, has put a temporary block on the report’s release at the defense’s request. Two of Trump’s co-defendants, including his valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, contended that publicizing the report could unjustly influence their case, a position echoed by Trump’s legal team.
In response, the Justice Department indicated that it would hold off on releasing the classified portion of the report while criminal proceedings against Nauta and De Oliveira are still in progress. Although U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July, Smith’s team is appealing that ruling, leaving the situation in limbo.
Despite this, prosecutors have clarified their intent to proceed with the publication of the election interference report.
In a swift motion filed late on Friday, they urged the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to promptly lift Cannon’s injunction that prevents the release of any segment of the report. They also informed Cannon that she did not possess the authority to block its publication, to which she replied by directing the prosecution to submit an additional brief by Sunday.
The appeals court rejected an emergency appeal from the defense on Thursday that sought to stop the release of the election interference report, which investigates Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results prior to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. However, it maintained Cannon’s injunction, which bars any report findings from being disclosed until three days after the appeals court addresses the issue.
The Justice Department contended in its emergency motion that Cannon’s ruling was “plainly erroneous.”
“The Attorney General is the Senate-confirmed head of the Department of Justice and has the authority to oversee all personnel within the Department,” the Justice Department stated. “This authority includes the decision to release an investigative report generated by his staff.”
According to regulations set by the Justice Department, special counsels must produce reports upon concluding their investigations, and it is customary for such reports to be made available to the public, irrespective of their content.
During Trump’s first term, Attorney General William Barr released a special counsel report that examined Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its possible ties to the Trump campaign.
Likewise, under President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland has also made public special counsel reports, including those related to Biden’s management of classified documents prior to his presidency.
