WASHINGTON — The special counsel investigating former president Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and the Jan. 6 insurrection honed his investigative and trial skills over 30 years of fighting cases involving corruption, crimes and police brutality.
John L. “Jack” Smith was part of a team that won the first death penalty case in a New York federal court in a half a century, then went on to the International Criminal Court, where he prosecuted genocide and war crimes. As a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, New York, he handled some of the city’s most violent cases, former colleagues say.
Smith’s next assignment is overseeing the probes into former President Donald Trump, one of the most challenging and significant Justice Department investigations in years. People who have worked with Smith throughout his career describe him as determined, impartial and up to the task.
