US Special Counsel Jack Smith resigns from DoJ days before Trump takes over the White House

US Department of Justice’s Special Counsel Jack Smith resigned from his position days before President-elect Donald Trump assumed the Oval Office. Smith garnered the wrath of Trump after he was assigned to oversee two criminal investigations into the Republican firebrand.

The special counsel tendered his resignation on Friday, hours after the DoJ asked a federal appeals court to swiftly reverse a judge’s order blocking the release of his investigative report focused on Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential elections.

Meanwhile, the release of the second Smith-authored report which deals with Trump’s classified document case is delayed because the president-elect’s two co-defendants, personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira are currently under criminal investigation.

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The news of Smith’s resignation was revealed in a footnote to a court filing with US District Judge Aileen Cannon on Saturday afternoon, Politico reported. The legal doc showed that Smith urged the judge not to delay or extend a court order she issued last week blocking the release of his final report.

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Several justice department officials argued that Cannon’s order overstepped her authority and that she had no power to block US Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing Smith’s findings. The Trump-nominated judge had previously dismissed the documents case after ruling that Smith’s appointment to his post was unconstitutional.

On Friday, DoJ asked the appeals court to lift Cannon’s injunction altogether, calling it “plainly erroneous”. The Department argued that only Garland “has authority to decide whether to release an investigative report prepared by his subordinates”. Smith was expected to resign from his position before Trump takes over the White House on January 20.

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If the reports are not released before US President Joe Biden leaves office, it is unlikely to see the light of the day under Trump’s presidency. The Republican firebrand has nominated Pam Bondi to replace Garland. “[T]he Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10," Smith said in his final letter to the court.

With inputs from agencies.