Jack Smith to resign before Trump inauguration: report

Special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two federal cases against Donald Trump in the years between the President-elect’s first and upcoming second terms, plans to resign along with members of his team before Trump’s inauguration in January. 

People familiar with Smith’s plans said that Smith’s goal "is to not leave any significant part of his work for others to complete and to get ahead of the president-elect’s promise to fire him within 'two seconds' of being sworn in," the New York Times reported. 

The sources said that Smith’s office is writing up plans for how to wind down the cases, and that things like judicial rulings could alter that timeline. 

Smith has also reportedly told prosecutors and FBI agents on his team who are not directly involved in the department-required process of issuing a final report summarizing the investigation that they can start planning their departures over the next few weeks. 

The January 6 case had filing deadlines set for November and December as the question of whether Trump’s actions at the center of the case were official or unofficial acts, coming after the July Supreme Court ruling that said presidents have immunity for official acts. In the days after the election, however, Smith asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to vacate the deadlines "to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy."

The Mar-a-Lago documents case had been dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon in July, but the decision had been appealed in an Atlanta federal court. 

The reports, which Attorney General Merrick Garland has signaled intentions to release to the public, are required to contain why the special counsel filed the charges they did and why they did not pursue other charges that were considered. The report must also be reviewed by US intelligence agencies for any classified information, which could delay the release of the report.