The Ministry of Justice published Volume One Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report on his now-closed investigations into President-elect Donald Trump, days before he is to be sworn in.
Attorney General Merrick Garland released the first volume focusing on the election case against Trump Smith to report at midnight Tuesday after they returned to the federal court system.
Smith’s opening letter to Garland said it was “ridiculous” that Trump believed the Biden administration or other political actors influenced or directed his decisions as a prosecutor, saying he was guided by the Principles of Federal Prosecution.
“Trump’s cases represented those in which the crime was committed [was] the most flagrant, the public damage the greatest, and the proof the most certain,’ said Smith, referring to the principles.
FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH FROM RELEASING FINAL REPORT
A shared image featuring US Attorney General Merrick Garland, President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images | Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In a lengthy report, Smith said his office fully stood behind the decision to file criminal charges against Trump because he “resorted to a series of criminal attempts to retain power” after losing the 2020 election.
Smith said in his conclusion that the parties were determining whether any material in the “superseding indictment was subject to presidential immunity” when it became clear that Trump had won the election in 2024. The department then decided that the case must be dismissed before he takes office because of the way it interprets the Constitution.
“The position of the Ministry that the Constitution prohibits the continuation of the accusation and criminal prosecution of the President is categorical and does not address the gravity of the crime for which he is charged, the strength of the Government’s evidence or the basis of the criminal prosecution, which the Office fully supports,” the report states.
APPEALS COURT WILL NOT BLOCK PARTIAL RELEASE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH TRUMP’S REPORT
Garland appointed former Justice Department official Jack Smith as special counsel in November 2022.
Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and head of the DOJ’s public integrity division, led the investigation into whether Trump withheld classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government’s investigation into the matter.
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Smith has also been tasked with overseeing an investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities obstructed the peaceful transition of power after the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021.
Smith accused Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty.
The secret records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was illegally appointed as a special prosecutor.
Special counsel Jack Smith recently asked to dismiss the charges he brought against Trump in the case of alleged interference in the 2020 election. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Smith sued Trump in the US District Court for Washington DC in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to have the case dismissed. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request.
However, this month Cannon temporarily blocked the release of Smith’s final report. A federal appeals court reversed her ruling, allowing the Justice Department to release Smith’s report.
Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
in classified records investigation, Smith charged Trump with 37 federal counts, including willful withholding of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
This image contained in a Justice Department court filing dated Aug. 30, 2022, partially redacted by sources, shows a photo of documents seized during the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. (Ministry of Justice via AP)
Trump is also charged with three additional counts in the superseding indictment outside the investigation: an additional count of willful withholding of national defense information and two additional counts of obstruction.
In the event of the 2020 election, Smith accused Trump of conspiring to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings; violation of official procedure; and conspiracy against the law. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The cases Smith brought against Trump never went to trial in any jurisdiction.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks to talk to reporters at the end of the day during his trial for allegedly covering up secret payments in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 7, 2024 in New York. (Getty Images)
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Despite efforts by Trump’s lawyers to prevent the release of the report, Attorney General Merrick Garland said he would make at least one volume of Smith’s report public.
This is a developing story. Check again for updates.
