Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump declared on Thursday that he would swiftly terminate Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing two federal cases against him, should he win the upcoming November election. In an interview with conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt, Trump was asked about his plans regarding Smith and whether he would consider pardoning himself.
“It’s so easy. I would fire him within two seconds,” Trump responded, indicating his intent to remove Smith immediately upon returning to the White House.
Smith was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland and has filed multiple indictments against Trump after he left office. In August 2023, Trump was indicted in Washington on charges related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Additionally, he faced charges in Florida for mishandling classified documents, although that case was recently dismissed by District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, whom Trump praised as a “brave, brilliant judge.”
While a sitting president cannot directly dismiss a special counsel, a reelected Trump could appoint a new attorney general with the authority to do so. This attorney general could potentially dismiss the federal cases against him.
Trump, now 78, is scheduled to go on trial for the election subversion charges in March. However, the trial has been paused while his legal team argues that an ex-president should be immune from criminal prosecution. In a ruling last July, the Supreme Court established that a former president enjoys broad immunity for official acts conducted while in office but can still be pursued for unofficial actions.