# Jack Smith: Biography, Appointment, Cases, Team & Aftermath ![[Jack Smith Headshot.png]] ## Personal Background - Born June 5, 1969, in [Clay, New York, a suburb of Syracuse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Smith_\(lawyer\)). - Education: [State University of New York at Oneonta (B.A. 1991) and Harvard Law School (J.D. 1994)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Smith_\(lawyer\))[Who Is Jack Smith, the Special Counsel Who Indicted Trump?](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/us/politics/jack-smith-special-counsel-trump-indictment.html). - Early career: [Assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA's Office, then federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York (1999-2008), where he helped convict NYPD officer Justin Volpe in the Abner Louima civil-rights case](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Smith_\(lawyer\)). - 2008-10: Investigator and trial attorney, Office of the International Criminal Court, The Hague. - 2010-15: [Chief of DOJ's Public Integrity Section, overseeing corruption cases against former Gov. Bob McDonnell and ex-Rep. Rick Renzi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Smith_\(lawyer\)). - 2015-17: [First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Tennessee; served briefly as Acting U.S. Attorney (Obama holdover, not Senate-confirmed)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Smith_\(lawyer\)). - 2018-22: [Chief prosecutor, Kosovo Specialist Chambers, The Hague, pursuing war-crimes indictments](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/jack-smith-special-counsel-investigating-donald-trump-rcna57944). ## Appointment as Special Counsel - Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith on Nov 18 2022 under [Order No. 5559-2022](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith) ["to oversee two ongoing criminal investigations"](https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/appointment-special-counsel-0) into Donald Trump's [retention of classified materials and efforts to overturn the 2020 election](https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/media/1260551/dl?inline). - Smith signed the [standard SF-61 oath form on Nov 20 2022; an internal DOJ memorandum notes the witness signature was later corrected, but the oath was valid](https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-10/10.06.23.%20-%20Special%20Counsel%20Oath%20Jack%20Smith.pdf). - Legal challenge: [Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the Mar-a-Lago documents indictment on July 15 2024, ruling Garland lacked statutory authority to appoint Smith; DOJ immediately appealed](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd75g4yrpdo). [A similar motion is pending in the D.C. election case](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-to-hear-arguments-on-moving-trump-election-subversion-forward). ## Prosecutions Brought by Smith |Case|Indictment|Core Charges|Status| |---|---|---|---| |Classified Documents (S.D. Fla.)|[37-count indictment 6/8/23; superseding 7/27/23](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith)|[Willful retention of national-defense info, obstruction, false statements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_special_counsel_investigation)|[Dismissed 7/15/24 by Judge Cannon as "unlawful appointment"; appeal filed](https://abcnews.go.com/US/special-counsel-jack-smith-withdraws-appeal-classified-docs/story?id=117209773), [later withdrawn after Trump's election](https://www.npr.org/2024/08/26/g-s1-19642/special-counsel-jack-smith-judge-cannon-appeal-trump-classified-documents)| |Election Interference / Jan 6 (D.D.C.)|[4-count indictment 8/1/23; superseding 8/27/24 (post-SCOTUS immunity ruling)](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith)|[18 U.S.C. §371 conspiracy to defraud U.S.; obstruction of official proceeding; conspiracy against rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_special_counsel_investigation)|[Dismissed 11/12/24 by Judge Chutkan citing OLC bar on prosecuting President-elect; DOJ moved to vacate deadlines Nov 8 2024](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/08/jack-smith-donald-trump-charges-00188461)| Smith's final [137-page Volume 1 report (Jan 7 2025)](https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf) asserts evidence ["would likely have resulted in a conviction … had voters not returned Trump to the White House"](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-the-full-special-counsel-report-on-trumps-jan-6-actions)[US special counsel report says prosecutors had enough evidence to](https://www.voanews.com/a/us-special-counsel-report-says-prosecutors-had-enough-evidence-to-convict-trump-in-2020-election-case/7935970.html). ## Resignation and Aftermath - Smith tendered [resignation effective Jan 10 2025](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgy0360nd6o), [noted in court filings and DOJ press release](https://www.npr.org/2025/01/12/g-s1-42365/jack-smith-has-resigned-from-the-justice-department-after-submitting-his-trump-report)[Special Counsel Jack Smith formally resigns from Justice Department](https://abc7ny.com/post/special-counsel-jack-smith-formally-resigns-justice-department/15790953/). - Following his departure, Acting AG Pam Bondi began dismissing or reassigning members of the Special Counsel's Office; [more than a dozen career prosecutors—including senior assistants J.P. Cooney, Molly Gaston, Anne McNamara and Thomas Windom—were fired on Jan 27 2025](https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/doj-fires-members-special-counsel-jack-smiths-team-118155822), [with the total rising to at least 37 by July 2025](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-administration-fires-doj-officials-worked-criminal-investigation-rcna189512)[Acting attorney general fires prosecutors who worked for](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/27/justice-department-firings-jack-smith-00200845)[US Justice Department fires several more employees from Jack](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-fires-nine-more-employees-jack-smiths-team-sources-say-2025-07-12/). ## Members of Smith's Prosecution Team |Name|Role under Smith|Public appearances / filings| |---|---|---| |**Thomas P. Windom**|[Senior Assistant Special Counsel; led grand-jury work on Jan 6 conspiracy](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/03/us/politics/trump-prosecutors.html)[How the DOJ ran out of time prosecuting Trump for January 6 riot](https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/06/politics/doj-trump-jan-6-riot)|[Frequent signatory on D.C. filings; argued immunity status conference Sept 2024](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-to-hear-arguments-on-moving-trump-election-subversion-forward)| |**Molly Gaston**|[Senior Assistant Special Counsel; drafted key evidentiary briefs citing Trump's "history of false election claims"](https://www.npr.org/2023/12/05/1217372828/jan-6-case-special-counsel-trump-false-election-claims)|[Appeared in Bannon contempt trial (while still USAO-DC) before joining SCO](https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/bannon-trial/bannon-after-guilty-verdict-blasts-jan-6-committee-members-87265289?id=87038649&entryId=87246518)| |**J.P. Cooney**|[Deputy Special Counsel; longtime corruption prosecutor (EDNY, USAO-DC); listed on Supreme Court filings opposing Trump petitions](https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-939/306999/20240408191803801_United%20States%20v.%20Trump%20final%20for%20filing.pdf)|| |**Michael R. Dreeben**|[Counselor to the Special Counsel; former Deputy SG with SCOTUS criminal expertise; co-signed April 2024 Supreme Court merits brief](https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-939/306999/20240408191803801_United%20States%20v.%20Trump%20final%20for%20filing.pdf)|| |**David Harbach**|[Senior trial counsel; led witness examinations before grand jury (reports cite him in Meadows immunity session)](https://abcnews.go.com/US/chief-staff-mark-meadows-granted-immunity-tells-special/story?id=104231281)|| |**Jay Bratt**|Chief, DOJ Counterintelligence; detailed to Smith for Mar-a-Lago probe; argued search-warrant matters (returned to DOJ 2024)|| |Other public SCO attorneys|[James Pearce, Kathryn Rakoczy, Aaron Crews, Julie Edelstein, Tania Groover – appeared on various court filings in both cases](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith)[Report of Special Counsel Smith Volume 1 January 2025](https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf)|| Smith noted in his [final report that the office comprised "about twenty DOJ prosecutors," all career except himself](https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf). ## Oath-of-Office Controversy - Trump allies claimed Smith never took a proper oath; [DOJ produced the signed SF-61 (Nov 20 2022) and a July 2023 memo addressing a clerical witness-signature issue but affirming validity](https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-10/10.06.23.%20-%20Special%20Counsel%20Oath%20Jack%20Smith.pdf)[Why Donald Trump Is Wrong About Jack Smith](https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-jack-smith-indictment-illegal-appointment-edward-meese-supreme-court-1855742). - [Judge Cannon nevertheless held special counsels are "principal officers" needing Senate confirmation; that holding is the subject of the government's pending Eleventh Circuit appeal](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd75g4yrpdo). ## Smith's Public Statements Post-Election - After Trump's Nov 5 2024 victory, [Smith issued a one-page filing (Nov 8 2024) noting the "unprecedented circumstance" and requesting suspension of deadlines](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/08/jack-smith-donald-trump-charges-00188461). - In his [Jan 7 2025 transmittal letter to Garland, Smith defended bringing the cases and praised his team's "unwavering service" despite "relentless unfounded attacks"](https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf). - Smith has made no further public comments since resigning; [he joined a Feb 18 2025 open letter with 900 ex-prosecutors warning of political interference at DOJ](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/18/doj-prosecutors-letter-jack-smith-trump). ## Primary Documents & Where to Find Them 1. [DOJ Order No. 5559-2022 appointing Smith (pdf link on Justice.gov)](https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/media/1260551/dl?inline). 2. [Smith's signed SF-61 oath form and July 2023 memorandum (posted by DOJ, link ending "…Special Counsel Oath Jack Smith.pdf")](https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-10/10.06.23.%20-%20Special%20Counsel%20Oath%20Jack%20Smith.pdf). 3. [Indictments (June 8 2023; Aug 1 2023; July 27 2023 superseding; Aug 27 2024 superseding) – all on Justice.gov special-counsel page](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith). 4. [Volume 1 Final Report transmitted Jan 7 2025 (pdf on Justice.gov)](https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf). 5. Smith resignation notice in footnote of 1/11/25 DOJ filing ([cited by BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgy0360nd6o) and [NPR reports](https://www.npr.org/2025/01/12/g-s1-42365/jack-smith-has-resigned-from-the-justice-department-after-submitting-his-trump-report)). ## Key Takeaways - Jack Smith is a career prosecutor with a mix of domestic corruption and international war-crimes experience; he was never a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney, but did serve as acting USA (Tennessee) for six months. - Appointed special counsel in Nov 2022, he indicted Trump twice—the first federal criminal charges ever against a former president. - Both cases were ultimately dismissed after Trump's 2024 election; the classified-documents dismissal hinged on Smith's appointment authority, an issue still on appeal. - Smith resigned Jan 10 2025; within weeks, the new administration purged many of his team. - Primary source records—appointment order, oath, indictments, and final report—are publicly posted on Justice.gov, while courts continue to grapple with the legality of his appointment.