Jack Smith will resign as special counsel before Donald Trump can fire him, several legal analysts have told Newsweek.
Trump vowed to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on October 24 that he will fire Smith “within two seconds” of taking office. Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as an independent special counsel to oversee the Republican’s federal cases.
Smith indicted Trump on four counts of allegedly working to interfere illegally in the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The president-elect has pleaded not guilty and has said the case is part of a political witch hunt. He accused Smith of attempting to interfere in the 2024 presidential election by prosecuting him.
Newsweek sought email comment from the Trump campaign and from Smith’s office on Thursday.
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Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University in New York, told Newsweek that Smith will resign before allowing Trump to fire him. He said he didn’t think the Department of Justice could save the special counsel from being fired.
“Maybe Congress could pass a special counsel law that would limit the president’s authority to fire a special counsel, but in my view, the Department of Justice can’t do it alone,” Germain said. “So I think Trump can fire Smith, who will probably resign first,” he added.
Germain said that, if Smith didn’t resign, Trump would simply appoint a new attorney general to fire Smith, or just pardon himself.
“One way or another, Smith and his cases are done, in my opinion, once Trump is sworn in,” Germain added.
Sahar Abi-Hassan, assistant political science professor at Northeastern University in Oakland, California, agreed that Smith will likely resign before being fired.
“I believe the most likely scenario is Smith winding down his investigation, releasing a report, and ultimately resigning.” This would be “a more graceful exit for Smith,” she told Newsweek.
Abi-Hassan said that she doesn’t believe Congress has the political will to stop Trump from forcing Smith out of his job.
“If we lived in a world of politics as usual, we would expect Congress to respond to a president firing a special prosecutor. But this is not business as usual,” Abi-Hassan added.
“President Trump’s popularity and appeal is partially based on his unusual and sometimes erratic responses, and the ability of the Republican Party to reestablish a strong base has been riding on Trump’s appeal.
“Also, the charges led by Smith are widely unpopular with Trump’s base and even some moderate Republicans. There is nothing in the way that Congress has acted in the past impeachments to make me believe that they would respond,” Abi-Hassan said.
