(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Special Counsel Jack Smith has resigned from the DOJ, according to newly released legal filings reported by Politico.
Smith quit Friday, two years after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him to go after President-elect Donald Trump—a move that ultimately failed when an overwhelming majority of Americans returned Trump to the White House in 2025.
The DOJ announced Smith’s resignation in a Saturday filing to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, begging her not to extend her court order blocking the release of the special counsel’s final report on Trump.
“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 filing read.
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
Smith’s departure followed his withdrawal of two criminal cases against Trump, complying with DOJ policies barring the prosecution of a sitting president. Trump is set to be sworn in as the 47th president on Jan. 20, 2025.
Trump praised Smith’s withdrawal in a statement on Truth Social, writing, “These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.”
Trump added, “It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Saturday’s filing noted that Smith submitted a final report recounting his prosecution against Trump, launched in November 2022.
For over two years, Smith’s prosecutors reportedly leaked information detrimental to Trump to the legacy media. Smith also attempted to rush the cases, potentially violating Trump’s due process rights and casting a shadow over the 2024 election.
Despite these efforts, Trump emerged victorious this past November, delivering a major blow to both Garland and Smith.
Notably, Trump has since called for Smith to be prosecuted for his conduct as special counsel.
