The Department of Justice on Tuesday released its long-awaited report on election interference involving President-elect Donald Trump, following a prolonged legal battle.
Prosecutors had previously dropped two federal criminal cases against Trump after his victory in the 2024 election, making this final report by Special Counsel Jack Smith their last opportunity to justify their decisions.
In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland accompanying the report, Smith defended his team, their impartiality, and the decision to pursue charges against Trump. Trump had been charged with election interference in Washington, D.C., and with unlawfully retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Smith argued that the evidence would have secured a conviction “but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the Presidency,” as DOJ policy prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.
Smith expressed his conviction in bringing the cases, stating, “To have done otherwise on the facts developed during our work would have been to shirk my duties as a prosecutor and a public servant. After nearly 30 years of public service, that is a choice I could not abide.”
The 137-page report outlines the evidence against Trump, including his alleged efforts to influence the 2020 election and propagate false claims about the results. On Monday, Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon cleared the DOJ to release the first volume of Smith’s inquiry, which focuses on the 2020 election investigation and related charges. However, the DOJ agreed to withhold the second volume, addressing the classified documents case, to avoid disrupting ongoing proceedings against two other defendants.
Smith submitted the report on January 7 and resigned on January 10, as anticipated. Trump has argued that the special counsel’s appointment was unlawful and that releasing the report could undermine his transition to the presidency. He sought to block its release and has threatened to dismiss Smith after his inauguration on January 20. Following the report’s publication, Trump posted on Truth Social, calling Smith a “lamebrain prosecutor” and asserting, “THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN!!!”
In response, Smith staunchly defended the integrity of the investigation, rejecting claims of political bias. “To all who know me well, the claim from Mr. Trump that my decisions as a prosecutor were influenced or directed by the Biden administration or other political actors is, in a word, laughable,” Smith wrote. He emphasized that his team’s sole focus was on following the facts and the law, adding, “Nothing more and nothing less.”
