Special prosecutor Jack Smith resigns

2025-01-12 12:32:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who led the federal case against Donald Trump on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and mishandling classified documents, has resigned as the Republican president-elect prepares to return to The White House.

Prosecutor Smith resigned Friday from the Justice Department, according to a document addressed to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, asking her to lift an order she issued blocking the release of his final report.

The announcement of Mr. Smith's resignation was made with a note in the file, stating that the Special Counsel had completed his work, submitted his final report on January 7, and was "separated" from the Department of Justice on January 10.

A former war crimes prosecutor, Mr. Smith filed two of the four criminal cases with which Mr. Trump faced after leaving office. The secret documents case was dismissed in July by a judge who was appointed by Mr. Trump himself when he was president. The three-judge US Supreme Court, appointed by Mr Trump, found that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for official acts.

After Mr. Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election, Attorney General Smith dropped both cases, citing a long-standing Justice Department practice that states that sitting presidents cannot be subject to federal investigations.

Prosecutor Smith's departure is further evidence of the decline in criminal cases against Mr. Trump, which may end with no legal consequences for the incoming president and at the time they were filed sparked a backlash that helped his political comeback.

Prosecutor Smith's resignation from the Department of Justice was expected. Mr Trump, who has often called Mr Smith "crazy", has said he would fire him immediately after taking office on January 20 and has suggested he may punish Mr Smith and others who investigated him once he returns to office. task.

Donald Trump in 2023 faced criminal prosecution, first in New York, where he was accused of trying to conceal a hush-hush payment to an adult film actress during his 2016 presidential campaign. He was also accused of illegal possession of secret documents after leaving office and for trying to overturn his 2020 loss, a campaign that sparked the January 6 attack 2021 at the Capitol. Prosecutors in Georgia also accused Mr. Trump of trying to overturn his loss in that state.

Mr. Trump denied any wrongdoing and attacked the prosecutors for politically motivated efforts to damage his campaign. He collected millions in contributions from court appearances and used the cases to advance a powerful narrative that the political establishment was aligned against him and his supporters.

The Department of Justice denied such assessments, saying the cases were handled by career prosecutors who acted without political influence./VOA