Politics

NEW: Jack Smith Stands Down, Officially Admits Defeat On Key Trump Case

Published

2 days ago

January 3, 2025

In another legal win for President-elect Donald Trump, special counsel Jack Smith has indicated to a judge he believes the federal government can no longer press its case against him in the classified documents probe.

The case, which stretched back to the August 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago, has been a focal point for Trump’s grievances with the Department of Justice and a “witch hunt” he has long placed at the feet of Smith. The appointee of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has filed paperwork in a Florida court stating that he is withdrawing himself from the case and will refer further prosecutorial efforts to the DOJ’s Southern District of Florida office. In a separate filing, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, entered his appearance in the case, according to ABC News.

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However, Smith said he plans to continue prosecuting Trump aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos De Oliveira for their alleged participation in a scheme to hide classified documents from the U.S. National Archives. Both have pleaded not guilty “to obstruct justice by attempting to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage that prosecutors say showed employees moving boxes around, in order ‘to conceal information from the FBI and grand jury,” according to the indictment. Previous public records appeared to indicate that a Justice Department prosecutor threatened to torpedo a judgeship for Nauta’s attorney unless he dropped the Trump aide as a client in the case. However, with Trump taking office, it’s expected the new administration will move quickly to drop both cases against Nauta and De Oliveira.

Smith last month filed a motion to vacate Trump’s classified documents case, citing a longstanding DOJ policy that sitting presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted. His despondent filing acknowledges the likelihood that Trump will never see a punishment in the case, in contrast to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who asked a judge in November to delay Trump’s hush money sentencing until after he leaves office. The filing was part of an appeal that came after Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case, ruling that Garland improperly appointed Smith.

Smith has also told allies he plans to resign from the DOJ before President-elect Trump takes office. Trump has said publicly that he plans to fire Smith “within two seconds” of being sworn in and even joked about having the Biden prosecutor deported. Several weeks after his victory, the Republican took to social media to excoriate Smith, the DOJ, and other Democratic prosecutors for bringing charges against him.

“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought. Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME,” Trump wrote on November 25th. “It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”