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Jack Smith (U.S. Department of Justice special counsel)
Jack Smith was the special counsel at the United States Department of Justice in charge of investigations into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and former President Donald Trump's potential mishandling of classified documents. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to this position in November 2022.[1]
Smith said: "I intend to conduct the assigned investigations, and any prosecutions that may result from them, independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice. The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch. I will exercise independent judgement and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate."[2]
To read more about the federal prosecution of Trump regarding the handling of classified documents, click here, and to read more about the federal prosecution of Trump regarding interference in the certification of the 2020 presidential election, click here.
Biography
Smith received his bachelor's degree from the State University of New York, Oneonta, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. Smith's professional experience includes working as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, and head of the U.S. Department of Justice's public integrity section. Smith also worked at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, as an investigation coordinator in the Office of the Prosecutor from 2008 to 2010 and as a special prosecutor investigating war crimes in Kosovo from 2018 to 2022.[3]
In his time at the Department of Justice, Smith led the prosecutions of several notable politicians. His team won convictions against former U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) and former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R). The Supreme Court of the United States later overturned McDonnell's conviction. Smith also led cases against former U.S. Sen. and 2004 vice presidential candidate John Edwards (D-N.C.), who was acquitted, and U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), which was closed without filed charges.[1][3]
Noteworthy events
Federal prosecution of Donald Trump regarding interference in the certification of the 2020 presidential election (2023)
A federal grand jury charged former President Donald Trump (R) with four criminal counts related to the certification of the 2020 presidential election in August 2023. Trump pleaded not guilty.[4] Judge Tanya S. Chutkan oversaw the proceedings.[5]
Special counsel Jack Smith moved to dismiss the case without prejudice on November 25, 2024. The U.S. Constitution prohibits the criminal prosecution of a sitting president, and Donald Trump (R) won the 2024 presidential election on November 5. In his filing, Smith wrote "That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind."[6]
In July 2024, the Supreme Court ruled on Trump's claim of presidential immunity in the case, saying in a 6-3 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts that presidents have absolute immunity for core constitutional powers and no immunity for unofficial actions. The case was remanded to a lower court to determine which charges in the indictment could proceed.[7] Smith released a superseding indictment on August 27, 2024, which maintained the same charges against Trump with an adjusted presentation to adhere to the Supreme Court's ruling.[8]
The original indictment was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. It included the following charges alleged against Trump:
- conspiracy to defraud the United States "by using dishonesty, fraud and deceit to obstruct the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election;"
- conspiracy to obstruct the certification of the electoral vote on January 6, 2021;
- obstruction of the certification of the electoral vote on January 6, 2021; and
- conspiracy "to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate one or more persons in the free exercise and enjoyment of" the right to vote and have one's vote counted.[9]
In November 2022, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to investigate whether any individual or entity "unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021."[10] Before this appointment, Smith served as a chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, Netherlands, where he investigated war crimes in Kosovo.[1]
Federal prosecution of Donald Trump regarding mishandling of classified documents (2023)
A federal grand jury charged Former President Donald Trump (R) with 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified documents in June and July 2023. Trump pleaded not guilty. This was the first federal indictment of a former U.S. president.[11][12]
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case on July 15, 2024, on the grounds that special counsel Jack Smith's appointment violated the Appointments Clause and the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution.[13] Smith filed an appeal, but later withdrew the appeal after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.[14][15]
The court unsealed the original indictment on June 9, 2023, which contained 37 criminal counts. A superseding indictment was released on July 27, 2023, and added three additional charges, resulting in a total of forty criminal counts. Thirty-two counts were on the willful retention of national defense information. The other counts included:[16][12]
- conspiracy to obstruct justice;
- withholding a document or record;
- corruptly concealing a document or record;
- concealing a document in a federal investigation;
- scheme to conceal;
- false statements and representations;
- attempting to alter, destroy, or conceal evidence; and
- compelling another individual to alter, destroy, or conceal evidence.
To read more about the case, click here.
See also
- Federal prosecution of Donald Trump, 2023-2024 (classified documents case)
- Donald Trump indictments, 2023-2025
- United States Department of Justice
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 CNN, " Who is Jack Smith, the special counsel behind the Trump classified documents indictment?" June 9, 2023
- ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, "Statement of Special Counsel Jack Smith," November 18, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The New York Times, "Who Is Jack Smith, the New Special Counsel?" November 18, 2022
- ↑ NBC News, "Trump indictment live updates: Effort to overturn 2020 election at center of charges," August 3, 2023
- ↑ NBC News, "Trump indictment live updates: Effort to overturn 2020 election at center of charges," August 3, 2023
- ↑ CourtListener, "Government's Motion to Dismiss," accessed November 25, 2024
- ↑ SCOTUSblog, "Announcement of opinions for Monday, July 1," July 1, 2024
- ↑ ABC News, "Trump charged in superseding indictment in election interference case following SCOTUS ruling," August 27, 2024
- ↑ United States District Court for the District of Columbia, "Indictment," accessed August 1, 2023
- ↑ Department of Justice, "Appointment of a Special Counsel," November 18, 2022
- ↑ CNN, "Donald Trump indicted on 7 counts in classified documents probe," June 9, 2023
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Court Listener, "Superseding Indictment," accessed July 28, 2023
- ↑ UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA WEST PALM BEACH DIVISION, "ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT BASED ON APPOINTMENTS CLAUSE VIOLATION," July 15, 2024
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Special counsel files notice of appeal in Cannon’s dismissal of Trump case," July 17, 2024
- ↑ CNN, "Special counsel Jack Smith drops election subversion and classified documents cases against Donald Trump," November 25, 2024
- ↑ CNCBC, "Trump charged with 37 counts in classified documents case, indictment says," June 9, 2023
