Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said that if re-elected, he will fire the special counsel Jack Smith in “two seconds” who has brought two federal indictments against him in the past year and a half. Trump has been charged by Smith with plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss and illegally holding on to classified material after leaving office.
In a recent interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt Trump said, “I would fire him within two seconds.”
The former President also called Smith “crooked,” a word he uses against most of his opponents.
Trump’s comments were his most direct yet regarding the potential fate of the federal cases against him if he were to win another term. He expressed confidence that he would not face impeachment for firing Smith, effectively challenging the House if Democrats were to regain control.
Justice Department officials have indicated that Smith is prepared to pursue the cases against Trump for as long as legally possible, even during the period between Election Day and the inauguration if Trump prevails.
Some of Trump’s allies have argued that Smith was illegally appointed, and Judge Aileen M Cannon, a Trump appointee overseeing the classified documents case in Florida, initially dismissed the charges on those grounds.
However, Smith’s team appealed the ruling, and the lawyers handling Trump’s election interference case in Washington were expected to raise a similar challenge, although its success remains uncertain given a federal appeals court’s ruling validating special counsels like Smith.
Both of Smith’s cases face significant hurdles, even if Trump loses the election. The special counsel’s office is currently defending the election subversion indictment against a recent Supreme Court ruling granting Trump broad immunity for official acts as president, which could take months to resolve.
Additionally, even if Smith’s appeal of Judge Cannon’s ruling is successful, she could dismiss the charges again on separate legal grounds.
During the interview, Trump also stated that he would not rule out pardoning Hunter Biden, the president’s son, who was recently convicted and pleaded guilty in separate federal cases. Trump has repeatedly targeted the younger Biden in an attempt to tarnish the president and portray the justice system as biased against him, framing his own criminal cases as politically motivated.
