Trump attorney Jack Smith has resigned from the Justice Department, Reuters reports.

(Reuters) – U.S. special counsel Jack Smith, who led the federal investigation into Donald Trump’s bid to reverse his 2020 election loss and mishandling of classified documents, has resigned as the Republican president-elect prepares to return to the White House. .

Smith resigned Friday from the Justice Department in a lawsuit filed Saturday with U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon, who asked her to lift a court order barring the release of the final report.

Smith’s resignation announcement came in a footnote to the filing, which said the special counsel completed his work, submitted his final confidential report on Jan. 7 and “separated” from the Justice Department on Jan. 10.

Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, has handled two of the four criminal cases Trump has faced since leaving office, but the Florida judge — who was appointed by Trump after dismissing one — and the U.S. Supreme Court — three of whom were appointed by Trump — were put on hold. — Affirms that former presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts. Neither case went to trial.

After Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election, Smith dropped both cases, citing a longstanding Justice Department rule against impeaching presidents. In asking the courts to dismiss the lawsuits, Smith’s team defended the merits of their case, saying that Trump’s imminent return to the White House made them intolerable.

Smith’s dismissal is another sign of the collapse of the criminal charges against Trump, a reaction that could end without any legal consequences against the incoming president and has helped fuel his political backlash.

Smith was expected to resign from the Justice Department. Trump, who frequently calls Smith, has said he will fire him immediately upon taking office on Jan. 20, and has hinted that he may face punitive action after Smith and others investigate him once he returns to office.

Trump in 2016 In 2023, he became the first sitting or former US president to face criminal charges, first in New York, where he was accused of trying to conceal payments to a sex film star during his 2016 presidential campaign. Smith’s charges followed Trump’s illegal possession of classified information after he left office and the They accused the campaign that sparked the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol to reverse their 2020 losses. Prosecutors in Georgia also indicted Trump in an effort to reverse his election loss in that state.

Trump asked for political inspiration.

Trump has denied the allegations and attacked the allegations as politically motivated and an attempt to damage his campaign. He collected millions in campaign contributions in court hearings and used a strong narrative that the political establishment was stacked against him and his supporters.

The Justice Department has defended the prosecutions, saying they are handled by professional prosecutors who operate independently of political influence.

Garland Smith In November 2022 — nearly two years after the Capitol attack — the Justice Department appointed twins to lead investigations into Trump. The move comes just days after Trump announced his campaign to return to the White House in 2024.

Garland, a nominee of Democratic President Joe Biden, said Smith would be given a degree of independence in highly sensitive investigations. Garland has rejected previous calls to name a special prosecutor, insisting he can effectively oversee the Trump investigations.

Smith returned to Washington from The Hague, where he prosecuted war crimes cases stemming from the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. He previously headed the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Division and worked at the Federal Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, developing a reputation as a hard-working investigator.

At Hague Smith won a conviction against former Kosovo Liberation Army commander Salih Mustafa, who ran a prison where torture took place during the conflict.

Historical beginning

The indictment, the first federal indictment against a former US president, accuses Trump of taking highly sensitive national security documents to a Florida resort and using claims of voter fraud to try to disrupt voting and certification following his 2020 election defeat.

“The attack on our nation’s capitol on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented attack on the seat of American democracy. As the indictment states, it was motivated by lies — by the defendant’s lies, intended to disrupt the functioning of the building. The U.S. government,” Smith said in announcing the August 2023 election charges, if he made them during the investigation. It is one of two public statements.

Smith faced a tight window to finalize both charges, as it was clear Trump would shut them down if he won the election. Both faced legal hurdles.

In the classified documents case, U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon, based in Florida, dismissed all charges after finding that Trump’s nominee Smith was improperly appointed as special counsel.

Smith’s office has appealed that decision. Although the prosecutor rejected the appeal related to Trump following his victory in the election, he indicated that they will continue their efforts to renew the charges against two Trump associates who were accused of obstructing the investigation.

The election case has been stalled for months as Trump’s lawyers appeal his presidential immunity. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Trump in August, ruling that he could not be impeached for several public actions he has taken as president, prompting further delays in the case.

Smith said in court papers that his team faced an “unprecedented situation” after Trump’s election win over Democrat Kamala Harris. The office said both cases could not proceed.

Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records following a New York hush money trial, brought by state prosecutors. The sentencing has been delayed indefinitely since his election victory, and Trump’s lawyers are seeking a full dismissal.

The Georgia case includes charges against 14 Trump associates, and the appeals court has been ruling that lead prosecutor Fannie Willis should be found guilty of misdemeanor charges stemming from his affair with a former top deputy. The impeachment against Trump cannot move forward during his presidency.