Special counsel Jack Smith had not been fired as of Nov. 13, contrary to an online claim

As President-elect Donald Trump awaits his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, questions remain about what will happen to his criminal cases, given that the Justice Department does not prosecute sitting presidents. 

If one social media post is to be believed, Special Counsel Jack Smith has already been fired, rendering an end to Trump’s cases. Smith filed two federal indictments against Trump, who also faces state-level indictments in New York and Georgia.

"Jack Smith has been fired. Cases to be dropped," the caption of the Nov. 6 Threads post read. "For the liberals that need more reasons to freak out! You’re welcome!"

The post included a video clip of a Fox News segment in which Correspondent David Spunt says, "Donald Trump’s legal problems have essentially all gone away since he won last night."

(Screenshot from Threads)

The post, which was still up as of Nov. 13, was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Without naming sources, The New York Times and other media outlets reported Nov. 13 that people familiar with Smith’s plans said he would resign before Trump takes office. But Smith remained special counsel when this social media post was made and that had not changed as of Nov. 13.

The video in the Threads post was clipped from an episode of Fox News’ Nov. 6 episode of "Outnumbered," in which Spunt reported the day after the election that Fox News was told that "Jack Smith will be gone from his post as special counsel, meaning the cases will be gone, before Trump takes the oath of office at noon on Jan. 20th."

Featured Fact-check

X posts

stated on October 22, 2024 in posts on X

A photo shows The Atlantic published a story headlined “Trump is Literally Hitler.”

Trump had said he’d fire Smith "within two seconds" of his return to the White House.

Smith filed a motion Nov. 8 to suspend the remaining deadlines in the federal case against Trump for charges related to the 2020 election, "to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy."

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan granted the motion.

When asked whether Smith had submitted his resignation, Justice Department spokesperson Peter Carr on Nov. 12 referred PolitiFact to that filing, which he said "provides the latest information on the status of the case and the Special Counsel." The document bore Smith’s name and title as special counsel. On Nov. 13, Carr confirmed nothing had changed.

Smith has until Dec. 2 to file a report showing how the government intends to proceed with the case. It was put on hold after the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, which means Chutkan must decide which elements of the case can be prosecuted.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in July dismissed the federal case related to charges that Trump mishandled classified documents after ruling that Smith’s appointment violated the U.S. Constitution. Smith appealed that decision.

Trump was earlier convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records; the sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 26. Trump also faces charges in a Georgia case related to the 2020 election results, but it is halted on a Trump team appeal that seeks to disqualify the top prosecutor, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

We rate the claim that special counsel Jack Smith has been fired False.

RELATED: Read all of PolitiFact’s coverage on Donald Trump indictments