Special counsel Jack Smith’s office is bracing for retribution if Trump wins
CNN
One year after bringing historic indictments against former President Donald Trump, the prosecutors left in special counsel Jack Smith’s office are gaming out legal options and bracing for retribution if Trump returns to the White House.
One year after bringing historic indictments against former President Donald Trump, the prosecutors left in special counsel Jack Smith’s office are gaming out legal options and bracing for retribution if Trump returns to the White House. Trump has called Smith a “sick puppy” and pledged to fire him “within two seconds” – which would effectively end two criminal cases over the former president’s handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The Justice Department is also unable to prosecute a sitting president. But until Inauguration Day in January, Smith would have time to weigh his options on issues the department has never had to confront before. One early hurdle is whether the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel considers a president-elect to be covered by the same legal protection against prosecution as a sitting president. That guidance would determine the next course of action, people briefed on the matter told CNN. More than a half dozen people who are close to the special counsel’s office or other top Justice Department officials told CNN that they believe Smith doesn’t want to close shop before being ordered to do so or being pushed out by Trump. “He’s not going to be the one to say, ‘I’m going to fold the tent,’” a former Justice Department official with insight into Smith’s approach told CNN.
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