Attorneys representing President-elect Donald Trump have made a formal request to Attorney General Merrick Garland to remove special counsel Jack Smith from his position and either withhold the release of Smith’s forthcoming report detailing investigations into the president-elect or transfer the matter to Trump’s incoming administration. The letter, which was made public on Monday, was addressed to Garland and a senior career official at the Justice Department. It alleged that Smith lacked the legal authority to submit a final report summarizing his investigations into Trump and urged the attorney general to put an end to what they described as the “weaponization of the justice system.”
The correspondence was co-authored by defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emile Bove, who have been chosen by Trump to serve as deputy attorney general and principal deputy attorney general in his upcoming administration. Smith had been leading two now-defunct investigations into the president-elect, one concerning allegations that Trump had attempted to subvert the peaceful transfer of power and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and another based on accusations that Trump had unlawfully retained sensitive government records after leaving office in 2021. Despite criminal indictments being brought against Trump as a result of these investigations, they were ultimately dismissed. Trump had maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The case relating to the classified government documents was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida in July 2024, who ruled that Garland’s appointment of Smith had been unlawful. This decision was contested by the Justice Department and was being appealed in the lead-up to the presidential election. The charges against Trump pertaining to the 2020 election were dropped after he was reelected, with the special counsel citing Justice Department policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.
Federal regulations stipulate that at the conclusion of any special counsel investigation, the investigative team is required to submit a report detailing its findings to the attorney general for review. Garland had previously committed to publicly releasing all special counsel reports completed during his tenure and had upheld that promise, including after a separate special counsel, Robert Hur, submitted findings regarding President Biden’s handling of classified records. Biden’s legal team had raised concerns about certain aspects of the report, such as characterizations of the president’s age, but these objections were dismissed by Justice Department officials when the full findings were made public.
Sources familiar with the situation have confirmed that Smith has been working on a final report that is expected to be completed before Trump’s inauguration. Following the submission of this report, the special counsel is anticipated to resign, as other independent prosecutors have done in similar circumstances.
In their letter to Garland, Trump’s attorneys revealed that they had reviewed a draft of Smith’s report at the special counsel’s office in recent days and had raised objections to its contents. They argued that the report contained inaccuracies and inaccurately portrayed the president-elect’s actions. The attorneys urged Garland to take action to rectify these issues and prevent what they perceived as an unjust targeting of Trump through the justice system.
The request to remove Smith and withhold the release of his report is part of a broader effort by Trump and his legal team to challenge the legitimacy and fairness of the investigations into his conduct. They have consistently maintained that the probes were politically motivated and intended to undermine his presidency. The dismissal of the criminal charges against Trump was seen as a vindication by his supporters, who viewed the investigations as an unjustified attack on the president.
The ongoing dispute between Trump’s legal team and the Justice Department highlights the challenges of conducting politically sensitive investigations and the potential for conflicts between the executive branch and the judicial system. The role of special counsels in investigating high-profile cases involving public officials is a contentious issue that has been the subject of debate and controversy in recent years. The outcome of the clash between Trump and the Justice Department over the investigations into his conduct will have significant implications for the future of accountability and oversight in the U.S. government.
As the transition of power from the Trump administration to the incoming Biden administration approaches, the question of how to handle the fallout from the investigations into Trump’s conduct remains unresolved. The decision whether to release Smith’s report, transfer the matter to the new administration, or take other actions will have far-reaching consequences for the political landscape and the perception of justice and fairness in the United States. The outcome of this dispute will shape the legacy of the Trump presidency and set a precedent for how future administrations handle similar situations involving allegations of misconduct and abuse of power.
