Jack Smith, the special counsel responsible for leading two federal cases against Donald Trump, has departed from the U.S. Department of Justice ahead of the Republican president-elect’s inauguration on January 20 for a second term.
The cases focus on Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House and his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump was indicted in both cases under Smith’s oversight.
“The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10,” officials said in the document submitted to US District Judge Aileen Cannon, urging her last week not to extend her order blocking the release of Smith’s final report.
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The statement regarding Smith appeared as a footnote in the filing to Judge Cannon, who is currently considering whether to maintain a hold on the special counsel’s report in two cases.
Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, was appointed in November 2022—nearly two years after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol—to lead the Justice Department’s ongoing investigations into Donald Trump.
He oversaw two of the four criminal cases Trump faced after leaving office, but both cases stalled.
A Trump-appointed judge in Florida dismissed one case, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that former presidents enjoy broad immunity from prosecution for official acts. Neither case reached trial.
After Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election, Smith dropped both cases, citing a longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
In seeking the dismissal of charges, Smith’s team defended the cases’ merits, but ultimately indicated that Trump’s potential return to the White House made continuing them untenable.
Smith’s departure marks another step in the collapse of the criminal cases against Trump, which now seem likely to end without legal consequences for the incoming president.
This development fueled backlash that contributed to Trump’s political resurgence.
Meanwhile, Trump, who has frequently called Smith “deranged” and threatened to fire him immediately upon taking office, has suggested he might seek retribution against Smith and others involved in his investigations once he returns to power.
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