DOJ releases special counsel Jack Smith's report on Trump election interference case
Days before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in, the Department of Justice has released Volume 1 of Special Counsel Jack Smith's final report on his now-concluded investigation into President-elect Donald Trump.
Attorney General Merrick Garland released the first volume of the Smith report, which focuses on the election case against Trump, at midnight Tuesday after a back-and-forth in the federal court system.
In an open letter to Garland, Smith said it was “ridiculous” for Trump to believe the Biden administration or other political actors influenced or guided his decisions as a prosecutor and said he was guided by federal prosecutorial principles. “.
“Trump's case represents 'the most blatant of crimes, the most harmful to the public, and the most certain of the evidence,'” Smith said, referring to those principles.
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U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images | Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Smith said in the lengthy report that his office fully supports the decision to bring criminal charges against Trump because he “engaged in a series of criminal actions to retain power” after his 2020 election defeat.
Smith said in his conclusion that the parties are determining “whether any material in the superseding indictment is subject to presidential immunity” when it becomes clear that Trump will win the 2024 election. The department later decided that the case had to be dismissed before he could take office because of its interpretation of the Constitution.
“The Office fully supports the Department's view that the Constitution's prohibition against continued prosecution and prosecution of the President is clear-cut and does not take into account the seriousness of the alleged crimes, the strength of the government's evidence, or the substance of the prosecution,” the report states.
In an article published in The Truth Society on Tuesday morning, Trump called Smith “desperate” and “unhinged” for releasing his “false findings” in the middle of the night.
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Garland appointed former Justice Department official Jack Smith as special prosecutor in November 2022.
Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Division, led the investigation into Trump's retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government's investigation into the matter.
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiffelbein)
Smith also oversees the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021.
Smith brought charges against Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty in both cases.
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In July 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida dismissed the confidential records case, ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special prosecutor.
Special counsel Jack Smith recently asked that charges against him be dismissed in a case alleging Trump interfered with the certification of the 2020 election. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Smith sued Trump in a 2020 election case in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to have the case dismissed. Judge Tanya Chatkan granted the request.
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But this month, Cannon temporarily blocked the release of Smith's final report. A federal appeals court overturned her ruling, allowing the Justice Department to release Smith's report.
Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
In the classified records investigation, Smith charged Trump with 37 federal counts, including knowingly withholding national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
This image, included in an Aug. 30, 2022, Justice Department court document and partially redacted by sources, shows the FBI's Aug. 8 search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort Photo of seized documents. (Department of Justice, AP)
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Trump has been charged with three additional counts as part of the investigation into a superseding indictment: another count of knowingly withholding national defense information and two additional counts of obstruction of justice.
In the 2020 election case, Smith accused Trump of conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings; violation of official procedures; and conspiracy to violate rights. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Smith's case against Trump has never gone to trial in either jurisdiction.
On May 7, 2024, former US President Donald Trump walked to address the media at the end of the day during his trial on charges of covering up hush money payments in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City. (Getty Images)
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Despite efforts by Trump's lawyers to block the report's release, Attorney General Merrick Garland has insisted he will release at least one volume of the Smith report.
This is a development story. Please check back for updates.