U.S. Department of Justice releases special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Trump election interference case

Days before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in, the Department of Justice has released Volume 1 of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on his now-concluded investigation into President-elect Donald Trump.

Attorney General Merrick Garland released the first volume of the Smith report, which focuses on the election case against Trump, at midnight Tuesday after going back and forth in the federal court system.

In an open letter to Garland, Smith said it was “ridiculous” for Trump to believe the Biden administration or other political actors influenced or guided his decisions as a prosecutor and said he was guided by federal prosecutorial principles. .

“Trump’s case represents ‘criminal conduct’ [was] The most blatant, the public harm is greatest and the evidence is most conclusive,” Smith said, citing the principles.

Federal judge blocks special counsel Jack Smith from releasing final report

Smith said in the lengthy report that his office fully supports the decision to bring criminal charges against Trump because he “engaged in a series of criminal actions to retain power” after his defeat in the 2020 election.

Smith said in his conclusion that the parties are determining “whether any material in the superseding indictment is subject to presidential immunity” when it becomes clear that Trump will win the 2024 election. The department later decided that the case had to be dismissed before he could take office because of its interpretation of the Constitution.

“The Office fully supports the Department’s view that the Constitution’s prohibition against continued prosecution and prosecution of the President is clear-cut and does not take into account the seriousness of the alleged crimes, the strength of the government’s evidence, or the merits of the prosecution,” the report states.

On Tuesday morning, Trump called Smith “desperate” and “unhinged” for releasing his “false findings” in the middle of the night in an article published in The Truth Society.

Appeals court won’t block release of parts of special counsel Jack Smith’s Trump report

Garland appointed former Justice Department official Jack Smith as special prosecutor in November 2022.

Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and head of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division, led the investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed a federal investigation into the matter.

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiffelbein)

Smith also oversees the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021.

Smith brought charges against Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty in both cases.

Flashback: Attorney General Garland appoints special prosecutor to investigate Trump based on Mar-a-Lago documents6

In July 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida dismissed the confidential records case, ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special prosecutor.

Special counsel Jack Smith recently asked that charges against him be dismissed in a case alleging Trump interfered with the certification of the 2020 election. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Smith filed charges against Trump in a 2020 election case in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to have the case dismissed. Judge Tanya Chatkan granted the request.

Flashback: Trump says he ‘will not be involved’ in special counsel investigation, calls SLAM ‘the worst politicization of justice’

But this month, Cannon temporarily blocked the release of Smith’s final report. A federal appeals court overturned 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 a classified records investigation, Smith charged Trump with 37 federal crimes, including knowingly withholding defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. Trump pleads not guilty.

This image, included in an Aug. 30, 2022, Justice Department court document and partially redacted by sources, shows the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort Photo of seized documents. (Department of Justice, AP)

Flashback: FBI said it had ‘probable cause’ to believe there were more classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, affidavit says

Trump was charged with three additional counts as part of a superseding indictment in the investigation: another count of knowingly withholding national defense information and two additional counts of obstruction of justice.

In the 2020 election case, Smith accused Trump of conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings; violation of official procedures; and conspiracy to violate rights. Trump pleads not guilty.

Smith’s case against Trump has never gone to trial in either jurisdiction.

On May 7, 2024, former U.S. President Trump was tried in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on suspicion of covering up the payment of hush money. At the end of the day, he walked to address the media. (Getty Images)

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Despite efforts by Trump’s lawyers to block the report’s release, Attorney General Merrick Garland has insisted he will release at least one volume of the Smith report.

This is a development story. Please check back for updates.