Special counsel Jack Smith and his team, who brought two federal cases against President-elect Donald Trump, will resign before Trump takes office.
The news of Smith and his team’s resignation was reported by The New York Times, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Smith’s office was looking for the best path forward in winding down its work on the two outstanding federal criminal cases against Trump, as the Justice Department has a longstanding position that it cannot charge a sitting president with a crime.
Smith and his team were taking significant steps in their election interference case against Trump before his victory in the 2024 election last week.
However, following his re-election, the federal judge overseeing the case said she would pause the process to allow the special counsel’s office time to decide how it wanted to proceed.
In 2023, Trump was indicted by the Justice Department over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. However, in July of this year, the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling threw a wrench into Smith’s case.
By August, Trump was charged with the same four counts after a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment in the case.
The other indictment from Smith’s team involved Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. However, that case was dismissed by a federal judge in July, saying that Smith’s appointment was illegal.