Special Counsel Jack Smith Resigns After Finishing Trump Investigations

Special Counsel Jack Smith resigned from the Department of Justice on Friday, days after finishing his criminal investigations into President-elect Donald Trump and ahead of his inauguration.

According to a footnote in a court filing sent to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Saturday afternoon, Smith concluded his investigations on Tuesday and would depart from the DOJ on Friday. The court filing from DOJ officials asked Cannon not to further extend a court order she issued in January to block the release of Smith’s report into Trump temporarily. (RELATED: FBI Brought Props To Stage Infamous Trump Crime Scene Photo)

CBS News reported in November that Smith, who was appointed in 2022 by Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead the investigations into Trump, had plans to resign after completing his work.

Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. Trump was indicted on four felony counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Though both of Smith’s cases were dismissed after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, whether the reports will be released remains in limbo. On Thursday, two days after Smith concluded his work, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied an effort by Trump’s co-defendants in Smith’s investigation into the classified documents case to block the release of the report. After the decision, Cannon left an order in place that restricts the report’s release until Sunday.

Trump made an effort to get the court to block the release of the report in a Wednesday amicus brief. The DOJ then indicated that it would only release the first part of Smith’s report which investigated the 2020 election and Trump’s potential actions to overturn it. Despite indicating that it would release the first half, the DOJ made the decision to hold the part dealing with the classified documents case while proceedings continue for Trump’s co-defendants.