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Jack Smith (lawyer)

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For other people named Jack Smith, see Jack Smith (disambiguation).
For other people named John L. Smith, see John L. Smith (disambiguation).
Jack Smith
Jack Smith, 2017
Special Counsel for the
United States Department of Justice
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 18, 2022
Appointed byMerrick Garland
United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee
Acting
In office
March 14, 2017 – September 21, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byDavid Rivera
Succeeded byDonald Q. Cochran
Personal details
Education

John L. "Jack" Smith is an American attorney who has served in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) as an assistant United States Attorney, acting United States Attorney, and as head of the department's Public Integrity Section. He was also the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court regarding war crimes in the Kosovo War. In November 2022, US attorney general Merrick Garland named Smith an independent special counsel; he will oversee two existing DOJ investigations into former president Donald Trump: a probe regarding the transfer of power following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, in relation to the removal and storage of classified documents.

Early life and career

Smith grew up in Clay, New York, a suburb of Syracuse.[1] He graduated from Liverpool High School in 1987.[2] He earned his Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from the State University of New York, Oneonta[3][4] and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1994. He joined the New York County District Attorney's office after graduation, serving as Assistant District Attorney where he was a member of the Office’s Sex Crimes and Domestic Violence Units.[5]

Smith then joined the United States Attorney's office in Brooklyn, where he prosecuted the police officers who sodomized Abner Louima and secured the death penalty against Ronell Wilson, who killed two members of the New York Police Department. From 2008 to 2010 he worked for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, overseeing war crime investigations.[6] In 2010, Smith was put in charge of the United States Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section (PIS).[1] He spent five years as chief of the PIS, where he prosecuted Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, U.S. Representative Rick Renzi, New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and Jeffrey Sterling, a CIA agent who shared national secrets.[7]

In 2015, Smith became an assistant United States Attorney in the Middle District of Tennessee.[8] He served as the acting United States Attorney in March 2017, succeeding David Rivera, and resigned effective September 2017 after the nomination of Donald Q. Cochran.[9] Smith became the vice president and head of litigation for Hospital Corporation of America in 2017.[10]

On May 7, 2018, Smith was named to a four-year term as chief prosecutor for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, investigating war crimes committed in the Kosovo War,[5][11][8] including the case of Salih Mustafa.[12] He took up the post on September 11, 2018, and was appointed to a second term on May 8, 2022.[5]

Smith is an avid triathlete.[13]

United States special counsel

On November 18, 2022, United States Attorney General Merrick Garland named Smith special counsel to investigate Donald Trump's actions regarding the January 6 United States Capitol attack and handling of classified documents.[11][7]

Awards

  • US Department of Justice Director’s Award[14]
  • US Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service[15]
  • Federal Bar Association’s Younger Federal Attorney Award[15]
  • Eastern District Association’s Charles Rose Award[14]
  • Henry L. Stimson Medal of the New York County Bar Association[14]
  • Harvard Law School Wasserstein Fellowship[16]

References

  1. ^ a b Yost, Pete (August 30, 2010). "DOJ's elite Public Integrity unit gets new leader". San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  2. ^ Casey, Ashley M. (November 18, 2022). "Liverpool grad named special counsel to oversee Trump investigations". Eagle News. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Keller, Aaron (November 18, 2022). "Special Counsel Tapped by Merrick Garland to Investigate Trump Formerly Prosecuted Top Democrats and Republicans". Law & Crime. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  4. ^ Scott, Eugene (November 18, 2022). "Who is Jack Smith, special counsel in Trump criminal investigation?". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Specialist Prosecutor". Kosovo Specialist Chambers & Specialist Prosecutor's Office. May 20, 2016. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  6. ^ Duster, Chandelis (November 18, 2022). "Who is Jack Smith, the special counsel named in the Trump investigations". CNN. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Garland names Jack Smith special counsel for Trump criminal probes". POLITICO. November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Jones, Dustin (November 18, 2022). "Who is DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith?". NPR. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "Jack Smith to resign from Nashville federal prosecutor's office". Tennessean.com. August 4, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  10. ^ "US Prosecutor Jack Smith appointed Specialist Prosecutor". Kosovo Specialist Chambers & Specialist Prosecutor's Office. May 4, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Duster, Chandelis (November 18, 2022). "Who is Jack Smith, the special counsel named in the Trump investigations | CNN Politics". CNN.
  12. ^ Berg, Stephanie van den (September 15, 2021). "Ex-rebel denies war crimes as Kosovo tribunal starts first trial". Reuters.
  13. ^ Viswanatha, Aruna; Gurman, Sadie (November 18, 2022). "Jack Smith Brings Broad Resume, Low Political Profile to High-Visibility Post". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  14. ^ a b c "US Prosecutor Tapped to Head Up Kosovo War Crime Court". www.courthousenews.com. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Gans, Jared (November 18, 2022). "Who is Special Counsel Jack Smith?". The Hill. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  16. ^ "Past Wasserstein Fellows". Harvard Law School. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  • "Jack Smith". United States Department of Justice. April 13, 2015.
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