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The Ministry of Justice has published Volume I Special Agent Jack Smith’s Final report on his now completed investigation against President-elect Donald Trump, a few days before he is due to take office.
Attorney General Merrick Garland released the first volume focusing on the election case against Trump Smith’s report at midnight Tuesday after back and forth in the federal court system.
An opening letter from Smith to Garland said it was “ridiculous” that Trump believed the Biden administration or other political actors influenced or directed his decisions as prosecutor and said he was guided by federal prosecutorial principles let.
“Trump’s cases represented cases in which the crime… [was] “The most obvious thing is, the public harm is the greatest and the evidence is the most certain,” Smith said, referring to the principles.
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A split image with 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 the lengthy report, Smith said his office fully supported the decision to file criminal charges against Trump for “a series of criminal attempts to retain power” after his 2020 election defeat.
Smith said in his conclusion that the parties were deciding whether any material in the “superseding indictment is subject to presidential immunity” when it became clear that Trump had won the 2024 election. The ministry then decided that the case must be dismissed due to the interpretation of the Constitution before he took office.
“The Department’s view that the Constitution prohibits the continued impeachment and prosecution of a President is categorical and does not depend on the seriousness of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s evidence, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office fully supports stands,” the report says.
The appeals court will not block the partial release of special counsel Jack Smith’s Trump 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 Justice Department’s public integrity division, led the investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents after he left 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, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Smith was also tasked with overseeing the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and organizations 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 filed charges against Trump in both cases, but he pleaded not guilty.
The confidential 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 had been unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith recently moved to dismiss charges against Trump for his interference in the certification of the 2020 election. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Smith filed charges against 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 this request.
This month, however, Cannon temporarily blocked the release of Smith’s final report. A federal appeals court overturned her ruling and allowed 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 the secret records In the investigation, Smith charged Trump with 37 federal counts, including willful withholding of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. Trump pleaded not guilty.
This image, included in a Justice Department court filing dated August 30, 2022 and partially redacted by the source, shows a photo of documents recovered from the FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on were confiscated on August 8th. (Department of Justice via AP)
As part of a superseding indictment from the investigation, Trump was also charged with three additional counts: one additional count of intentionally withholding national defense information and two additional counts of obstruction.
In the 2020 election, Smith accused Trump of conspiring to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; Violation of an official procedure; and conspiracy against rights. Trump pleaded not guilty.
The cases brought by Smith against Trump did not go to trial in either jurisdiction.
Former US President Donald Trump walks to speak to the press at the end of the day at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments. (Getty Images)
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Despite efforts by Trump lawyers to prevent the report’s release, Attorney General Merrick Garland had insisted that he would release at least one volume of Smith’s report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
