Exit Jack Smith - TPM – Talking Points Memo

Special Counsel Jack Smith is reportedly in talks with officials at the Department of Justice to “wind down” his two prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump; one over January 6, and the other over his retention of classified documents from his first term.

At issue, per NBC, is the long-standing DOJ policy we became so familiar with in Donald Trump’s first term: that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted.

But behind that lies the grim future the investigations faced: Trump promised during the campaign to fire Smith “in two seconds” if elected; since he won last night, Trump’s allies are already lobbing threats at Smith.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) demanded early this morning that he pull the two indictments and seek a way to compensate the government, while various pro-Trump social media personalities are making a big show of salivating over potentially turning the tables on Smith and indicting him.

Revenge fantasies aside, it’s not clear how Smith will bring the two prosecutions to an end. He can ask the judge to dismiss the indictments — that’s the easiest route. But before doing that, the judge may ask him to supply a reason.

A separate question comes down to a potential report that Smith may issue before January 20. Per DOJ regulations, if Smith closes the special counsel office, he has to submit a report while doing so. Though this will probably engender a lot of cable news coverage, it’s an obviously paltry measure given the threat to the rule of law that a second Trump term will present.