The Special Counsel to President-elect of the United States (US), Donald Trump, Jack Smith has tendered his resignation on Saturday, January 11.
Smith, who led two federal criminal cases against Trump resigned from the Justice Department before the president-elect takes office on Monday, January 20.
According to a court filing submitted on Saturday, Mr Smith separated from the Department on Friday January 10.
It was further gathered that Mr Smith’s departure comes amid a dispute over the release of his report into the findings of Trump’s classified documents case.
Smith was appointed as special counsel in 2022 to oversee two Justice Department cases into Trump – one over the alleged improper hoarding of classified documents and the other over an alleged attempt to interfere in the 2020 election outcome.
Both cases resulted in criminal charges against Trump, who pleaded not guilty and and sought to cast the prosecutions as politically motivated.
Mr Smith’s cases against the president-elect were closed last year following Trump’s presidential election win. Prosecutors wrote that Justice Department regulations forbid the prosecution of a sitting president.
His exit means he leaves without either of his criminal prosecutions of Trump seeing trial.
