Special counsel Jack Smith, who has led multiple investigations against President-elect Donald Trump on behalf of the Department of Justice, will resign prior to Trump returning to office on January 20, 2025, the New York Timesand CNN reported.
The outlets cited an official familiar with the discussions. Scripps News has not independently confirmed his intentions.
Trump has said he would fire Smith as soon as he takes office.
Attorney General Merrick Garland named Smith the special counsel in charge of multiple investigations involving Trump in July 2023.
The Department of Justice has a long-standing policy of resisting political influence on investigations involving major political figures. The appointment came as Trump began campaigning for the presidency.
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Smith is reportedly seeking to wind down two federal prosecutions of Trump before he takes office. Last week in a case involving Trump's involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection, Smith was granted a pause in that case.
Smith said that given the results of the election, his office "respectfully requests that the Court vacate the remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance."
Trump faced multiple charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
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The case is one of two brought by Smith and the federal government against Trump. The other involved Trump allegedly illegally storing classified documents at his residence in Florida after leaving office in 2021.
The Department of Justice has a long-standing rule that current presidents cannot be indicted, prosecuted or jailed in a criminal case while in office.
The two federal cases are separate from two state cases Trump is facing. On Tuesday, a New York judge delayed deciding on whether sentencing shall continue after Trump was found guilty earlier this year on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
