DOJ henchman Jack Smith seeks to have lawfare cases against President-elect Trump dropped

WASHINGTON, DC - With Donald Trump scoring a landslide victory to become the 47th President of the United States, sources told ABC News that illegally appointed special counsel Jack Smith is expected to end his lawfare prosecutions against Trump. 

According to the sources, who requested anonymity, Smith is engaged in talks with senior leadership at the Department of Justice to examine how to end the politically motivated prosecutions involving Trump. 

The decision is based on Department of Justice policy, which states that sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution while in office. Trump will be inaugurated on January 20, 2025, and the cases Smith has brought against him cannot proceed before that date. 

Smith is engaged in two cases. One is the so-called “election subversion” case in Washington, DC, which involves allegations of Trump's attempts to undermine the 2020 election results. The other case, being heard in Florida, involves the bizarre “classified documents” case, which Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed. This case revolves around Trump's alleged removal of classified documents he took from his time in the White House. The DOJ has appealed her decision. 

For his part, Trump has said he will fire Smith “within two seconds” of taking his oath of office. 

“We got immunity at the Supreme Court. It’s so easy. I would fire him within two seconds. He’ll be one of the first things addressed,” Trump said in a phone call to radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt on Oct. 24, just over a week before the election. 

However, that will not be necessary due to the DoJ policy of not prosecuting a president. 

Smith was appointed by outgoing Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 in what clearly appeared to be a politically motivated stunt. His charge was to investigate President Trump’s questioning of the 2020 election results, a longstanding practice that Democrats repeatedly use whenever a Republican wins the White House. He was also tasked with investigating Trump’s alleged removal of classified documents he took from his time in the White House. 

In the latter case, Trump claimed that as president he had the authority to classify or declassify the documents. His defense team also claimed Smith was illegally appointed as special counsel. Smith was a private attorney at the time he was appointed by Garland, and therefore he had no authority to appoint him to receive criminal law enforcement power under the title of Special Counsel. 

In an amicus brief supporting Trump’s allegations, former Attorney General Edwin Meese and two other attorneys argued that there is no federal statute establishing an “Office of Special Counsel in DOJ.” Further, they argued there was no statute authorizing the “Attorney General, rather than the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint such a Special Counsel.” 

They argued that the Special Counsel enjoyed more power than the 94 U.S. Attorneys, noting their authority is limited to the jurisdictions where they are appointed. Further, they're nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate under the Appointments Clause in Section 2 of Article II of the Constitution. 

Cannon cited the above in dismissing the documents case against Trump. 

On June 8, 2023, Smith indicted Trump in the documents case. On August 1, 2023, he was indicted on four felony counts related to efforts to “overturn” the results of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021. However, earlier this summer, the Supreme Court issued a ruling granting presidents partial immunity for actions taken related to their official duties. This ruling significantly affected the Jan. 6 case, which was sent back to a lower court due to the implications of the ruling. 

Trump also faces charges in Georgia related to the 2020 election. This case has been stalled since June due to allegations against Fulton County DA Fani Willis of engaging in “impropriety” due to an affair with one of her prosecutors. 

There is also a so-called “hush money” case in Manhattan regarding former adult film actress Stormy Daniels and a civil case where Trump was ordered to pay half a billion dollars in a so-called “civil fraud” case brought by hyper-partisan New York Attorney General Letitia James. 

When she ran for the office of AG, James promised to “get” Trump as the major part of her “platform.”