Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith Resigns in Discreet Court Filing

The prosecutor tasked with investigating Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results has left the U.S. Department of Justice, officials revealed in a court filing on Saturday.

According to the filing submitted to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, Special Counsel Jack Smith completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the department on January 10. The document urged Judge Cannon not to extend a prior order blocking the release of Smith’s final report.

This disclosure appeared as a footnote in the filing, as Judge Cannon deliberates whether to maintain a hold on the report concerning Trump’s involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection and his alleged retention of classified documents after leaving the White House. With the hold set to expire soon, and the judge considering an extension, the legal battle over Trump-related cases is expected to unfold just days before the president-elect's inauguration on January 20.

In a late-night post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that Smith was fired by the Justice Department. He is a disgrace to himself, his family, and his country. After spending over $100,000,000 on the Witch Hunt against TRUMP, he left town empty-handed!” Trump wrote.

Smith had previously accused Trump of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding—specifically, the congressional session to certify Joe Biden’s election victory, which was violently disrupted by a mob of Trump’s supporters. However, Smith dropped the cases after Trump won the presidential election in November.

On January 7, Smith finalized his confidential report and submitted it to Attorney General Merrick Garland. The Justice Department indicated last week that Garland intends to publicly release the findings. Officials have argued that Judge Cannon lacks the authority to prevent the attorney general from making the report public.