Special Counsel (2022-2024); indicted Trump on federal election and classified documents charges
Background
Jack Smith was appointed Special Counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022. He previously served as chief of the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section and as chief prosecutor at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. In June 2023, he secured a 37-count federal indictment of Donald Trump related to classified documents at Mar-a-Lago; in August 2023, a separate four-count indictment on charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Both cases were dismissed after Trump won the 2024 presidential election. The classified documents case was dismissed by Aileen Cannon in July 2024, and the election interference case was dropped by Smith himself following Trump’s election victory. Smith maintained that the evidence was strong but that DOJ policy prohibited prosecuting a sitting president.
