Prosecutors working for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith are reportedly preparing to face retribution if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House next year.
Smith's office has held staff briefings on potential harassment by Trump supporters over its pursuit of criminal charges against the ex-president, CNN said Friday.
Topics reportedly included doxing, in which a person's private information is posted online, as well as cybersecurity and stalking.
In January, Politico reported that the Justice Department spent more than $4.4 million over six months to protect Smith and his team from threats the special counsel has said were sparked by comments from Trump, who had called him "deranged" and a "sick puppy."
Some members of Smith's prosecution team have reportedly already left for different Justice Department positions, and CNN said others were considering joining corporate law firms to wait out a potential second Trump administration.
Many also anticipate Republican-led congressional investigations and internal Justice Department reviews, CNN said.
Last week, Trump pledged to immediately dismiss the special prosecutor if he were to take office again on January. 20.
"I would fire him within two seconds," the Republican nominee told conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt on October 24. Trump also said last month on 77WABC's "Cats & Cosby" that Smith should be "thrown out" of the country along with with undocumented immigrants, even though he's an American citizen
Smith has no plans to resign ahead of time if Trump wins his November 5 race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, CNN said, citing unidentified top Justice Department officials and people close to Smith's office.
"He's not going to be the one to say, 'I'm going to fold the tent,'" a former Justice Department official said.
Smith obtained two indictments against Trump over his handling of classified government documents that the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and his alleged conspiracy to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
The classified documents case was dismissed in July by Trump-nominated U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith's appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland was illegal.
Smith has appealed that decision.
Last month, a judge unsealed Smith's revised election interference indictment against Trump following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that granted presidents broad immunity for their official acts.
Trump is seeking to have that case dismissed on the same grounds as in the classified documents case.
