Special counsel Jack Smith and his team to step down prior to Trump assuming office

Special counsel Jack Smith and his team are planning to resign before President-elect Donald Trump takes office as they evaluate the best path for winding down their work on two outstanding federal criminal cases against Trump. The Justice Department’s longstanding position is that it cannot charge a sitting president with a crime. Smith’s office had made progress in their election interference case against Trump before his re-election, but a federal judge paused the process after Trump’s victory to give the special counsel’s office time to decide how to proceed. The Supreme Court ruled in July that Trump has immunity for some conduct as president in the election interference case, leading to a superseding indictment in August. The Justice Department had also charged Trump with mishandling classified documents in Florida, but a federal judge dismissed the case in July, ruling that Smith’s appointment was illegal. The developments in these cases will continue to unfold, and updates should be monitored. Laura Jarrett and Rebecca Shabad are covering this story for NBC News, with contributions from Daniel Barnes and Dareh Gregorian.

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