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Jack Smith, the special counsel who led two impeachment cases against Donald Trump, has resigned from the Justice Department before the president-elect takes office this month.
According to court filings on Saturday, Smith “separated from the department” on Friday.
CBS News, the BBC’s US media partner, was reported in November that Smith will resign from the Department of Justice upon completion of his term.
Smith’s departure comes amid controversy over the release of his report on the findings of Trump’s private affairs.
Mr. Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022 to oversee two Justice Department impeachments against Trump — one related to the improper retention of classified documents and the other for attempting to interfere in the 2020 election.
Both cases led to the impeachment of Trump, who has pleaded not guilty and sought to make the charges politically motivated.
Smith’s lawsuit against the president-elect was dismissed last year following the election of President Trump. Prosecutors wrote that Justice Department rules bar the impeachment of the president.
CBS reported in November that Mr Smith’s resignation was expected because it would allow him to leave his job without being fired by Mr Trump or the president’s attorney general.
His exit means he will leave without any charges against Trump.
Earlier this week, US District Judge Aileen Cannon – who oversaw the classified documents case and ruled in opposition last July – temporarily banned Smith and Attorney General Merrick Garland “will not release, share, or publish” the report of the case.
Trump’s legal team received a copy of the report last week and it is expected to be released on Friday.
Judge Cannon’s move came after lawyers for Trump’s former opponents in the case – Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveir – asked him to intervene. Both men refused.
Judge Cannon ordered that the release be stayed until the highest appeals court, the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, hears an emergency appeal from Nauta and De Oliveir.
By law, the special counsel must report the findings of their investigation to the Department of Justice, which is headed by the attorney general. Garland has promised to release all reports to the public and has done so.
Trump’s attorneys argued that Smith lacked the authority to report classified documents because he was unconstitutionally appointed to the job and was politically motivated.
Trump’s legal team also wrote to Garland not to release the report, and urged him to end the “security apparatus”.
On Friday, a judge ruled that Mr. Trump “discharge without merit” on charges of embezzlement, meaning he was spared jail time and fines, but still holds office as the first president of the US with a guilty verdict.
