Jack Smith
Jack Smith is named in 19 events across the Capture Cascade Timeline, from 2021 to 2026.
Quick facts
| Name | Jack Smith |
| Role | U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel (Nov. 2022 – Jan. 2025) |
| Appointed by | Attorney General Merrick Garland, November 18, 2022 |
| Portfolio | Two federal prosecutions of Donald Trump: classified documents (Mar-a-Lago) and January 6 / 2020 election interference |
| Outcome | Both cases dismissed after Trump’s 2024 election win; Smith resigned before inauguration |
Key positions
| Position | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Special Counsel, U.S. DOJ | Nov. 2022 – Jan. 2025 | Oversaw the Mar-a-Lago documents and Jan. 6 election cases against Donald Trump |
Biography
Jack Smith served as U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel from November 2022 until January 2025, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland on November 18, 2022, to oversee two federal criminal investigations of Donald Trump. The first concerned Trump’s retention of national defense materials at his Mar-a-Lago residence; in June 2023 it produced an indictment charging Trump with 37 counts related to the mishandling of classified documents. The second addressed efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the events of January 6, producing a separate indictment in August 2023.
Smith’s office assembled a detailed evidentiary record across both matters — including immunity-for-testimony arrangements with fake-elector witnesses in the January 6 probe and an October 2024 court filing that laid out, in its fullest form, the government’s account of Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 result. The Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling in Trump v. United States, which recognized broad presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts, significantly narrowed the election-interference case before its dismissal.
Both prosecutions were dismissed after Trump won the 2024 election. Consistent with longstanding DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president, Smith concluded the cases could not proceed and resigned before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. His office’s final Report of Special Counsel Smith (Volume 1, January 2025) preserved a public record of the conduct alleged against Trump even in the absence of any conviction.
Sources
- Report of Special Counsel Smith, Volume 1, January 2025 — U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf
- “DOJ names Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee Trump criminal investigations” — NPR, November 18, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/11/18/1137736663/special-counsel-trump-justice-department-jan-6-mar-a-lago
- “Merrick Garland names special counsel for Trump, Jan. 6 investigations” — Washington Post, November 18, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/11/18/justice-trump-garland-special-counsel/
- “Trump indictment: Former president faces 37 counts in documents case” — NBC News, June 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/live-blog/live-updates-trump-indictment-classified-documents-rcna88494
- “Special counsel Jack Smith provides fullest picture yet of his 2020 election case against Trump” — CNN, October 2, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/02/politics/jack-smith-donald-trump-filing/index.html
| Date | Event | Lanes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-19 | Comey Subpoenaed in DOJ 'Grand Conspiracy' Probe Targeting Obama-Era Intelligence Officials
3 src James Comey · Jason A. Reding Quinones · Judge Aileen Cannon · John Brennan · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2026-02-23 | Judge Cannon Permanently Blocks Jack Smith Classified Documents Report
3 src Aileen Cannon · Jack Smith · Department of Justice | confirmed | |
| 2025-10-25 | Federal Grand Jury Convened to Investigate 'Conspiracy Against Trump'
2 src Chris Wray · Federal grand jury · Jack Smith · Lisa Monaco · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2025-10-15 | Trump Publicly Identifies Political Opponents for DOJ Prosecution
3 src Donald Trump · Pam Bondi · Kash Patel · Jack Smith · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-10-09 | FBI Terminates Two Special Agents Who Worked on January 6 Investigation
2 src Kash Patel · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Jack Smith · FBI Special Agents | reported | |
| 2025-09-16 | Former Special Counsel Jack Smith Warns Rule of Law 'Under Attack Like Never Before'
2 src Jack Smith · Department of Justice · George Mason University · Trump Administration | reported | |
| 2025-08-02 | Office of Special Counsel Opens Investigation into Jack Smith Following Senator Cotton Request
3 src Jack Smith · Tom Cotton · Office of Special Counsel · Trump | confirmed | |
| 2025-07-14 | Pam Bondi ousts DOJ ethics director Joseph Tirrell amid mass prosecutor dismissal
3 src Pam Bondi · Joseph Tirrell · Donald Trump · Jack Smith · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-07-12 | Bondi Fires 20 Justice Department Employees Tied to Trump Prosecutions
3 src Pam Bondi · Department of Justice · Trump Prosecutors · January 6 Prosecutors · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-05-15 | FBI Disbands Washington Public Corruption Squad Amid Broader Investigative Reorganization
3 src Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Kash Patel · Chuck Grassley · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-15 | Trump Administration Systematically Removes DOJ Prosecutors
3 src James McHenry · Michael Ben'Ary · Jack Smith · Donald Trump · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-27 | Trump DOJ Fires Jack Smith Special Counsel Team in Systematic Purge
3 src James McHenry · Jack Smith · Molly Gaston · J.P. Cooney · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-14 | Jack Smith releases final report concluding Trump would have been convicted for January 6 crimes
3 src Jack Smith · Donald Trump · Mike Pence · Merrick Garland | confirmed | |
| 2024-07-15 | Judge Cannon dismisses Trump classified documents case, rules Jack Smith appointment unconstitutional
3 src Aileen Cannon · Jack Smith · Donald Trump · Clarence Thomas · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2023-08-01 | Jack Smith Indicts Trump on 4 Federal Counts for January 6 Conspiracy to Overturn Election
4 src Donald Trump · Jack Smith · Mike Pence · Rudy Giuliani · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2023-06-23 | Jack Smith grants immunity to fake electors for testimony against Trump
3 src Jack Smith · Michael McDonald · Jim DeGraffenreid · Donald Trump | confirmed | |
| 2023-06-08 | Trump indicted on 37 federal charges for classified documents
3 src Donald Trump · Jack Smith · Walt Nauta · Department of Justice | confirmed | |
| 2022-11-18 | Jack Smith appointed Special Counsel to investigate Trump
3 src Jack Smith · Merrick Garland · Donald Trump · Department of Justice | confirmed | |
| 2021-01-06 | FBI forensics show Trump watched TV and tweeted instead of stopping Capitol riot
3 src Donald Trump · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Jack Smith | confirmed |