Jack Smith Resigns After Failed Cases Against Donald Trump

Jack Smith, the special counsel who led two unsuccessful federal cases against US President-elect Donald Trump, has resigned. Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, faced challenges from Trump's legal team but lost in both district court and the Supreme Court. He left his Washington office on Friday, as reported by a senior law enforcement official.

Smith had planned to resign before Trump, who had threatened to fire him, took office on January 20. However, he did not make a formal announcement, and his spokesperson declined to comment. His resignation follows the nullification of his courtroom efforts due to Trump's election victory in November.

According to US Justice Department policy, prosecutions against a sitting president cannot proceed. Consequently, Smith had to drop two cases against Trump in 2023: one in Florida for mishandling classified documents and another in Washington for planning to overturn the 2020 election.

In his final week, Smith faced another legal setback when Judge Aileen M Cannon, appointed by Trump, temporarily blocked the public release of his final report. In July, Judge Cannon dismissed the classified documents case, ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. Although Smith's deputies appealed, they dropped the challenge concerning Trump after his re-election.

The US Supreme Court also hindered the election interference case by granting Trump immunity for official acts as president, making it impossible to hold a trial before the election. The US Justice Department plans to show part of Smith's report to Congress privately and release it publicly after proceedings against Trump's former co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, are completed. Nauta and De Oliveira's lawyers have requested an extension on the order blocking the report.