Jonathan R. Nash, the Robert Howell Hall Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta. Courtesy photoThe Report From Jack Smith Might Not Be the Report of the Special Counsel
There is an entirely separate reason that the attorney general should not release the document retention report on the events of Jan. 6, 2021: Under the law governing that case, Jack Smith does not qualify as a special counsel.
January 16, 2025 at 01:50 PM
5 minute read
With Donald Trump’s inauguration pending, Jack Smith—whom Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed as special counsel to investigate Trump’s role in the events of January 6th and in the retention of documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and served in that capacity until a few days ago—was racing to complete the tasks that he could.
With the prosecutions of Trump for these matters off the table and the cases against Trump withdrawn, Smith provided reports of these investigations to Garland. Garland has now released to the public Smith’s January 6th report but has withheld the document retention report. Garland’s justification for holding back on the document retention report—in line with a court order precluding for now its release—is that its release could prejudice two other defendants in that case whose prosecutions remain today on the books.
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