For ads-free news, click here.
From the New York Times: Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought two unsuccessful federal prosecutions against President-elect Donald J. Trump, resigned his post this week, according to an announcement buried in the footnote of a legal filing.
Mr. Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor who lost a protracted battle with the Trump legal team in appellate courts and the Supreme Court, left his offices in Washington on Friday, according to a senior law enforcement official.
His departure was expected. Mr. Smith had signaled his intention to leave before Mr. Trump, who had threatened to fire him, took office on Jan. 20. His final week was marked, fittingly enough, by one more legal setback at the hands of Judge Aileen M. Cannon, the Trump-appointed district court judge presiding over the Florida documents case, who temporarily blocked public release of his final report.
Breaking News: Jack Smith, the special counsel, has resigned. He led two unsuccessful federal prosecutions against President-elect Trump. His departure was expected. https://t.co/gfxptEtXFD
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 11, 2025
A footnote in the legal filing reads, “The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10.”
BREAKING: Jack Smith resigned from DOJ yesterday.
Footnote in latest motion: “The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10.”
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) January 11, 2025
Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland reportedly intends to defy Judge Cannon’s efforts to block the release to Smith’s report.
Politico reports:
Justice Department officials say Cannon’s order overstepped her authority and that she has no power to block Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing Smith’s findings. Her ban on disclosure of Smith’s report currently runs through Monday.
Garland has said he plans to release publicly only the portion of Smith’s report that covers his investigation into Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election. The attorney general has said in court filings that he agreed with a recommendation from Smith to keep the other volume — which addresses the probe into Trump’s possession of a raft of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after he left office in 2021 — under wraps due to prosecutors’ ongoing efforts to revive a criminal case against two Trump allies and former co-defendants. Instead, Garland intends only to show that report to a handful of members of Congress.
BREAKING: Jack Smith has resigned from the Justice Department.
w/ @joshgerstein https://t.co/UjV4oPkJlW pic.twitter.com/mw7ZpHO6Ue
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 11, 2025
🚨 Jack Smith resigns in disgrace. pic.twitter.com/CDj3Zby3rf
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) January 11, 2025
Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter.)
The DML News App: www.X.com/DMLNewsApp
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast archive is available below, with the most recent on top. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
