The man who investigated claims that President-Elect Donald Trump was involved in 2020 election interference, Jack Smith, has resigned.
The move was expected soon because there have been indications that he would have been fired once the incoming Trump administration took office.
Mr, Smith was employed as Special Counsel since being appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022.
Mr. Trump has denied the allegations against him; he has pleaded not guilty to federal charges, which were dismissed after Trump was elected president.
News that Smith has exited his post came from a federal filing that stated, "The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10,” referring to the US Department of Justice.
The notation was part of a general filing from the Justice Dept. asking a judge for an end to a restriction that's been keeping part of Smith's final report from being released.
That restriction is set to expire on Sunday night, but Trump's legal team is asking the same judge to keep it in place.
The filing is part of a bigger dispute aimed at stopping Garland from releasing the portion of Smith's report that covers classified documents Trump allegedly possessed; Trump and his former co-codefendants are working to stop the release.
Friday an appeals court rejected an appeals from Trump and others to keep the report from being released.
Garland has already said he intends to give copies of that unreleased report to members of Congress.
There are reports that the classified documents case report will not be released because it is part of an active prosecution.
