Donald Trump told conservative radio host, Hugh Hewitt, on Thursday that if he is elected president, he will fire special counsel Jack Smith “within two seconds” of taking office.
Smith was appointed by attorney general Merrick Garland as an independent special counsel to oversee Donald Trump’s federal cases. By doing so, Garland sought to avoid a conflict of interest—if the Justice Department is not prosecuting Trump directly, then it does not look as if the Biden administration is persecuting Trump.
Donald Trump during a roundtable with faith leaders at Christ Chapel on October 23, 2024 in Zebulon, Georgia. Trump has said that, if reelected, he would fire special counsel Jack Smith within two seconds.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The Claim
Donald Trump claims he can fire Jack Smith, thereby ridding himself of two federal cases.
Trump was indicted in Washington, D.C. on four counts of allegedly working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The Republican presidential nominee has pleaded not guilty and said the case is part of a political witch hunt.
The other case is in Florida for alleged hoarding of classified documents. Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the Florida case and Smith is currently appealing that decision. Trump had pleaded not guilty.
Newsweek sought email comment from Trump’s attorney and Jack Smith’s office on Friday.
The Facts
Trump previously sought to fire a special counsel. During the first Trump presidency, special counsel Robert Mueller was investigating alleged links between Trump and the Russian government.
Trump told White House attorney, Don McGahn, to get the Justice Department to fire Mueller. McGahn refused to do so, fearing it was illegal and threatened to resign rather than carry out the order.
Trump backed down and Mueller was allowed to continue his investigation and write his report.
A second obstacle Trump would face is possible impeachment.
This was alluded to by Hugh Hewitt in the interview, when he asked Trump if Congress would impeach him for firing Smith.
Trump replied: “I don’t think they’ll impeach me if I fire Jack Smith. Jack Smith is a scoundrel.”
But during the Mueller firing crisis, Republicans warned the president that he would face possible impeachment for doing so, while acknowledging that they could only act after Mueller was fired.
Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona released a statement at the time warning: “We are begging the president not to fire the special counsel. Don’t create a constitutional crisis. … Congress cannot preempt such a firing. Our only constitutional remedy is after the fact, through impeachment.”
Republican senator Lindsey Graham told a gathering of reporters at the time that the firing “could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency.”
He later warned that it would be “corrupt” and “would be a constitutional crisis.”
The Ruling
Unverified.
Possible but unlikely. Legal advisers would probably tell Trump not to do so, as they did during the Mueller crisis.
If Trump ignored their views, he could face an impeachment hearing in the Senate and some Republican Senators might vote against him.
However, Trump has been through two impeachment attempts before, including one after Mueller published his report. It’s possible that Trump may try to ride out the storm and fire Jack Smith.
It’s possible he may decide it’s not worth it. As it stands now, one of his two federal cases has been dismissed. The one remaining case, the electoral fraud indictment in Washington, D.C, has been greatly neutered by the Supreme Court‘s July 1 ruling on presidential immunity.
In addition, the Justice Department has written instructions not to prosecute a sitting president. Trump would not face a trial until he had left office.
FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK
