Special counsel Jack Smith has finished his work on two criminal investigations involving President-elect Donald Trump and formally resigned from the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday.
News of Smith's resignation was shown in a court filing submitted by DOJ officials to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Saturday afternoon, first reported by Politico's senior legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein.
"The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10," the third footnote in the filing states.
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to take over two investigations into then-former President Trump.
The DOJ's latest filing to Cannon urges the Trump-appointed judge not to extend a court order she issued that blocked the release of Smith's final report before the president-elect takes office on January 20.
The Justice Department filed an emergency motion on Friday to a federal appeals court to reverse Cannon's injunction blocking the publication of Smith's report into Trump's alleged efforts to undo the result of the 2020 presidential election.
On January 7, Cannon ruled that the report should be blocked.
Cannon oversaw the federal case against Trump for allegedly hiding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. She had already dismissed that case in July 2024, based on her finding that Smith was illegally appointed as special counsel.
In her ruling on Tuesday, Cannon wrote that if Smith were unlawfully appointed, then he had no right to issue a report about Trump's indictments.
On Thursday, a federal appeals court ruled on a point of law that the DOJ could, in theory, release the report, but held that Cannon's decision would have to be appealed before it could actually be shared publicly. Three hours later, the DOJ launched an appeal against Cannon's ruling, seeking to overturn it as soon as possible and have the report released before January 20.
The DOJ has indicated that in any case, it will only release the part of the report that deals with Trump's election interference case. That's because two other men were charged with Trump in the classified documents case and the DOJ does not want to prejudice the case against them.
Trump's lawyers, Todd Blanche and John Lauro, wrote to Garland on Monday, asking him not to release Smith's report.
In their letter to Garland, Blanche and Lauro wrote that releasing the report would interfere with the presidential transition process and would be seen by the public as a political act. They also asked Garland to fire Smith.
Blanche and Lauro wrote that Smith is an "out-of-control private citizen unconstitutionally posing as a prosecutor."
"Accordingly, because Smith has proposed an unlawful course of action, you must countermand his plan and remove him promptly. If Smith is not removed, then the handling of his report should be deferred to President Trump's incoming attorney general, consistent with the expressed will of the People," they wrote.
With the official news of Smith's formal resignation, the "Republicans Against Trump" X, formerly Twitter, account posted: "The public deserves to see his final report before January 20. Release it NOW!"
Legal analyst Jonathan Turley posted on X: "Jack Smith just resigned. So ends one of the most controversial and star-crossed investigations in history."
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California wrote on X: "Jack Smith did his duty. And the public deserves to see the product of his work and that of his team. Before Trump can follow through on his promise to bury it. The system of justice failed to treat Donald Trump as any other defendant and deliver timely justice. But it is not too late to deliver the measure of the accountability that comes from disclosure."
What Happens Next
Smith's office has been in the process of winding down for several weeks, and his resignation prior to Trump taking office was anticipated.
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