Jack Smith, the special counsel who led two federal criminal cases against Donald Trump, resigned from the Justice Department ahead of the president-elect later this month.
According to a court filing submitted Saturday, Mr. Smith “separated from the department” on Friday.
CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, Reported in November That Smith will resign from the Department of Justice at the end of his term.
Mr Smith's departure comes amid controversy over the release of his report on the outcome of Trump's classified documents case.
Mr. Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022 to oversee two Trump Justice Department cases — one alleging improper storage of classified documents and the other alleging interference with the results of the 2020 election.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty in both cases, was criminally charged and tried to frame the trial as politically motivated.
Mr. Smith's lawsuits against the president-elect were dropped after Trump won the presidency last year. Prosecutors wrote that Justice Department regulations prohibit prosecuting a sitting president.
CBS reported in November that Mr. Smith's resignation was expected because it would allow him to leave his post without being fired by Trump or an incoming president's attorney general.
Her departure means she left without seeing any of her criminal cases against Trump go to trial.
Earlier this week, US District Judge Eileen Cannon — who oversaw the classified documents case and controversially dismissed it last July — Temporarily banned Mr. Smith and Attorney General Merrick Garland from “releasing, sharing or transmitting” reports about the case.
Trump's legal team received a draft copy of the report last weekend and is expected to release it as soon as Friday.
Judge Cannon's move came after attorneys for Trump's former co-defendants — Walt Nauta and Carlos D'Olivier — urged him to intervene. Both pleaded not guilty.
Judge Cannon ordered a stay of release until a higher appeals court, the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, considers urgent appeals by Mr. Nauta and Mr. D'Olivier.
By law, special counsels must present the findings of their investigations to the Department of Justice, headed by the Attorney General. Garland promised to release all reports to the public and so far has done so.
Trump's attorneys argued that Mr. Smith did not have the legal authority to submit the classified documents report because he was unconstitutionally selected to do the job and was politically motivated.
Trump's legal team also wrote to Garland not to release the report, urging him to stop “weaponizing the justice system.”
A judge sentenced Trump on Friday “unconditional discharge” In a criminal case related to the hush money, he was spared jail and fines, but would still be the first US president to take office with a felony conviction.