President-elect Donald Trump reportedly plans to dismiss the entire team of special counsel Jack Smith and direct the Department of Justice to investigate the 2020 election. According to a report from The Washington Post, Trump’s plans include removing Smith’s team entirely, even career attorneys who are generally shielded from political retaliation. Smith has already announced his intention to resign and wind down his federal cases against Trump before the president-elect’s inauguration in January.
In June 2023, Jack Smith indicted Donald Trump on charges of unlawfully retaining classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to recover them. In August 2023, Trump faced a separate indictment on four felony counts related to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the subsequent January 6 attack on the Capitol. Trump pleaded not guilty to both cases, and the classified documents case was later dismissed. Delays plagued both cases as Trump’s legal team filed numerous appeals, including an immunity challenge in the federal election subversion case, which eventually reached the Supreme Court, the Washington Examiner noted.
During his campaign, Trump promised to reform the Department of Justice, which he asserts is being used against him. As he becomes president, Trump “wants to clean out ‘the bad guys, the people who went after me,’” someone familiar with his plans told the outlet. Smith’s office comprises dozens of attorneys, FBI agents, and support staff drawn from various divisions within the Justice Department. Many of those who worked on Trump-related cases were likely assigned to the roles rather than choosing them.
The majority of Smith’s team consists of mid- and upper-level career staffers temporarily detailed to the special counsel’s office. They come from divisions within the Justice Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and U.S. attorneys’ offices across the country. In past special counsel investigations, staff attorneys typically return to their regular positions after completing temporary assignments. Some of Smith’s teams have already done this, noted the Examiner.
“President Trump campaigned on firing rogue bureaucrats who have engaged in the illegal weaponization of our American justice system, and the American people can expect he will deliver on that promise,” Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on the matter. House Republicans previously directed Justice Department officials to preserve all communications from those involved in the Trump cases under Jack Smith, signaling that Smith and others could become targets of congressional investigations.
Additionally, Trump reportedly intends to use the Department of Justice to investigate the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden, according to the report — though Trump has not said so publicly. “Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in September.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.