U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the federal cases against Donald Trump on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling of classified documents, has resigned from the Department of Justice. The notice of Smith’s resignation came in a footnote in a court filing on Saturday, which said he had completed his work, submitted his final confidential report on January 7, and “separated” from the Justice Department on January 10.
Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, brought two of the four criminal cases Trump faced after leaving office, but saw them grind to a halt after a Trump-appointed judge in Florida dismissed one and the U.S. Supreme Court found that former presidents have sweeping immunity from prosecution for official acts. Neither case went to trial.
Trump welcomed Smith’s departure, saying on Truth Social that Smith had accomplished nothing and accused the prosecutor of “destroying the lives of many people and families.” Smith’s resignation is another marker of the collapse of the criminal cases against Trump, which could end without any legal consequences for the incoming president and sparked a backlash that helped fuel his political comeback.
Trump, who has frequently called Smith “deranged,” had said that he would fire him immediately upon taking office on January 20, and has suggested that he may pursue retribution against Smith and others who investigated him once he returns to office.