DOJ releases special counsel Jack Smith's final report on Trump election case: NPR

Special Counsel Jack Smith comments on the recently unsealed indictment against Donald Trump in Washington, DC, August 2023

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The Justice Department earlier Tuesday The long-awaited election interference report into President-elect Donald Trump has been released after a protracted legal battle.

Smith's final report was the last chance for prosecutors to explain their decisions as they dropped two federal criminal cases against Trump after he won the 2024 election.

Smith prefaced the report in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, defending his work and team and his impartiality in pursuing Trump's federal case, which prosecutors ultimately accused Trump of interference in Elections and hoarding in Washington, D.C. He stored classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and refused to return them to the FBI.

The evidence could have led to Trump's conviction at trial, “but Mr. Trump was elected and was about to return to the presidency,” the report said. Longstanding Justice Department policy prohibits prosecuting sitting presidents.

Smith said he fully supports the decision to file charges: “Based on the facts uncovered in our work, not to do so would be a shirking of my responsibilities as a prosecutor and a public servant. After nearly 30 years of public service, this is It’s just a choice I can’t live with.”

The 137-page report lays out evidence from prosecutors that Trump worked to influence the election and spread electoral rhetoric that he knew was false.

Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday paved the way for the Justice Department to release the first part of Smith's investigation into Trump, which includes the probe and four felony charges against him related to the 2020 presidential election . Cannon denied a motion by Trump's former co-defendants seeking to block his release.

The Justice Department agreed not to publicly release the second volume of its report on the classified documents case to avoid interfering with ongoing cases against two other defendants. But it hopes to release the first volume covering investigations and allegations against Trump related to the 2020 presidential election.

Smith submitted his report to the Justice Department on January 7 and resigned on January 10 as expected.

Trump has argued that the special counsel's appointment was illegal and that any public report would be legally invalid and would harm his transition to the White House. He had tried to intervene in the Florida case to prevent the release of the report and threatened to fire Smith once he took office on January 20.

“Jake is a slow-brained prosecutor who couldn't try his case before the election, which I won in a landslide. The voters have spoken!!!” Trump said on “Truth Social” after the report was released ” posted on.

Smith strongly defended the report's work and stressed that the Justice Department never attempted to interfere with the report.

“To anyone who knows me well, Mr. Trump's claim that my decisions as prosecutor were influenced or directed by the Biden administration or other political figures is laughable,” he wrote.

“I can assure you that neither I nor the prosecutors on my team will tolerate or participate in any actions taken by our office for partisan political purposes. My office has a North Star: No matter how the facts and the law develop, follow Facts and laws. Nothing less.”