President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly planning to dismiss the entire team of special counsel Jack Smith and utilize the Department of Justice to conduct an investigation into the 2020 election.
According to a report from the Washington Post, President Trump intends to remove all members of Smith’s team, which includes career attorneys who are usually shielded from political repercussions. Smith had previously announced his resignation and the gradual conclusion of his federal cases against Trump prior to assuming office in January.
In June 2023, Smith filed charges against Trump for unlawfully retaining classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to recover them. Then, in August 2023, Trump faced indictments on four felony counts connected to his attempts to overthrow the 2020 election and the subsequent violent attack on the Capitol on January 6th.
Trump entered a plea of not guilty for both cases, and the case involving classified documents was eventually dismissed. Throughout the legal proceedings, there were numerous delays as Trump’s legal team appealed different aspects of the prosecutions. One notable challenge brought by Trump was an immunity claim in his federal election subversion case, which eventually reached the Supreme Court.
During his campaign, Trump made it a priority to overhaul the Department of Justice, which he believed was being used as a weapon against him. Now that he has taken office, Trump is determined to “clean out the bad guys, the people who went after me,” according to a source familiar with his plans.
Smith’s office consists of a diverse team of attorneys, FBI agents, and support staff from different departments within the Justice Department. It is important to note that those who were involved in the Trump cases did not necessarily volunteer for the assignment, but rather were assigned to the task.
The majority of Smith’s team consists of experienced professionals who are at mid- to upper-level positions in their careers. These individuals have been temporarily assigned to the special counsel’s team from various divisions within the main Justice Department in Washington, D.C., as well as from U.S. attorneys’ offices across the country.
In previous special counsel investigations, staff attorneys of this nature typically resume their regular duties once their temporary assignments come to a close. Certain teams led by Smith have already followed this pattern.
According to a statement from President Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, the American people can expect him to follow through on his promise to fire rogue bureaucrats who have illegally weaponized the American justice system.
House Republicans had previously instructed Justice Department officials to ensure that individuals who had collaborated with Smith on the Trump cases preserve all of their communications. This directive indicated that Smith, along with others, may potentially be the focus of congressional investigators.
Trump is reportedly intending to utilize the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a means to investigate the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
Despite numerous investigations revealing no evidence of the extensive voter fraud alleged by Trump and his Republican supporters, he has persisted in asserting that his defeat resulted from widespread cheating.
Ever since his defeat four years ago, Trump has been employing ambiguous language, hinting at his intention to take legal action against state officials who refuse to support his efforts to overturn the election results.
In a September post on Truth Social, Trump warned that various individuals, including lawyers, political operatives, donors, illegal voters, and corrupt election officials, should be cautious about their legal vulnerability.
He emphasized that those engaging in dishonest activities would be thoroughly investigated, apprehended, and prosecuted, surpassing the levels of scrutiny witnessed in the history of our nation.
