Special counsel Jack Smith suggests Donald Trump would have been convicted in 2020 election case

Federal cases against US president-elect formally closed before inauguration

US president-elect Donald Trump and special counsel Jack Smith. Reuters

Special counsel Jack Smith has said in a report that he believes there was enough evidence for US president-elect Donald Trump to be convicted on crimes related to trying to overturn the 2020 election.

But with the Republican's inauguration less than a week away, Mr Smith closed the Justice Department's case due to a long-standing departmental policy against prosecuting a US president.

Mr Trump was indicted in 2023 on four criminal counts of conspiracy to defraud the US, obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy against citizen rights to have their votes counted.

The Justice Department believes ending the case “is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government's proof or the merits of the prosecution, which the office stands fully behind”, the special counsel wrote in a final report released on Tuesday.

“Indeed, but for Mr Trump's election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Mr Smith in 2022 to serve as a semi-independent special counsel to oversee the various politically sensitive federal investigations into Mr Trump.

Mr Smith's final report covered the two investigations conducted: into Mr Trump's alleged efforts to interfere with the transfer of power after the 2020 election and into his handling of classified documents after his presidency ended.

“As set forth in my report, after conducting thorough investigations, I found that, with respect to both Mr Trump's unprecedented efforts to unlawfully retain power after losing the 2020 election and his unlawful retention of classified documents after leaving office, the principles compelled prosecution,” he wrote.

It is a rare period in American history, with a former president indicted by grand juries over alleged crimes conducted during a first term, but the prospect of timely or even any trials ended due to the president's re-election.

A Supreme Court ruling last summer gave broad immunity for presidents and their actions taken while in office, delaying a possible trial for the election case.

“While I relied greatly on the counsel, judgment and advice of our team, I want it to be clear that the ultimate decision to bring charges against Mr Trump was mine. It is a decision I stand behind fully,” Mr Smith wrote.

He detailed Mr Trump's “unprecedented criminal effort” to “change the results” and “to retain power” after Democrat Joe Biden beat him in the 2020 election.

The special counsel covered how Mr Trump and his supporters tried to organise fake electors and fraudulent certificates to certify the election for him, as well as leaning on state officials to “find” votes and spreading false information about voting results.

He also discussed Mr Trump's pressuring his vice president Mike Pence to certify the election in his favour and how he gave a fiery speech to supporters directly before a violent mob stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“In service of these efforts, Mr Trump worked with other people to achieve a common plan: to overturn the election results and perpetuate himself in office,” Mr Smith wrote.

The president-elect, who had pleaded not guilty in the case, commented on the report shortly after it was released overnight, saying he was “totally innocent”.

He accused Mr Smith of working with “Crooked Joe Biden” and of being a “deranged” and “lamebrain prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the Election”.

In his report, Mr Smith called accusations by Mr Trump that he was under pressure from Mr Biden and the White House “laughable”.

The special counsel's final comments on the classified documents case, which also included charges on obstruction of justice, remain sealed due to legal proceedings by District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is challenging the basis of releasing the text.

Mr Smith resigned as special counsel last week shortly after filing the final report to his boss, Mr Garland.