[3] The classified documents case was dismissed by judge Aileen Cannon in July 2024, on the grounds that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.

[4] The election subversion case was dismissed by judge Tanya Chutkan in November 2024, on the grounds that the Office of Legal Counsel held that Trump as President-elect could not be charged consistent with the Constitution.

[11] He then studied political science at the State University of New York at Oneonta, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude.

[8][15][16] On one occasion he reportedly slept in an apartment building hallway for an entire weekend so he could intercept a witness in a domestic violence case and convince her to testify.

[8][a] He spent five years as chief of PIN, where he prosecuted a variety of corruption cases, including those against Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, U.S. representative Rick Renzi, Jeffrey Sterling, a Central Intelligence Agency officer who shared national secrets,[19][16] New York State Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver,[20] and North Carolina Senator John Edwards.

[14][15][23] During his time as the chief prosecutor, he brought charges against several individuals, including Salih Mustafa[26][27][28] and the sitting President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi.

[8] By early January 2023, Smith had returned to the U.S.[33] On June 8, 2023, a grand jury indicted Trump on seven federal criminal charges related to his handling of the classified documents.

[41] On August 1, 2023, a grand jury indicted Trump on four federal charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his conduct during the January 6 Capitol attack.

[46] Two weeks before Trump won the 2024 presidential election,[47] he said in a radio interview that, were he to take office, "I would fire him [Jack Smith] within two seconds.

[49] On November 22, it was reported that Trump was planning to use the Justice Department to investigate his 2020 election loss as well as to fire Jack Smith's entire team.

[50] In January 2025, Jack Smith provided the report to the attorney general (as he is required to do by law)[51] and resigned his role of special counsel before Donald Trump took office.