Smith, who was appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, led the department’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, as well as a separate case focused on Trump’s handling of classified documents found in his Mar-a-Lago home.
A representative for the Justice Department declined to comment Saturday on the firings, which were first reported by Axios.
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Trump had long referred to the pair of investigations Smith led as part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” against him. During the 2024 campaign, he vowed to fire Smith on his first day back in the White House if he won the election. Smith resigned from the Justice Department shortly before Inauguration Day in January after winding down the federal criminal cases against Trump, which prosecutors said could no longer go forward because of long-standing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
As part of the election-related investigation, Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2023 on four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. In the classified documents case, Trump faced charges that included willful retention of national defense secrets, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
