Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump declared on Thursday that he would swiftly fire Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing two federal cases against him, if he wins the November election.
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As reported by AFP, Trump, who is currently facing sentencing on separate charges related to hush money payments, is accused by Smith of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results, which were won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump's remarks targeting the special counsel prompted the campaign of his White House rival Kamala Harris to accuse the former president of thinking he was “above the law.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the election subversion case, arguing that Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed—an argument they previously succeeded with in another case against Trump. He was charged in Florida with mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House, but that case was dismissed by District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump.
The legitimacy of special counsels has been upheld in many previous cases, and Smith has appealed Cannon's unusual ruling. During an interview on Thursday with conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt, Trump described Cannon as a “brave, brilliant judge.”
When Hewitt asked if Trump would pardon himself or dismiss Smith on his first day back in the White House, Trump indicated he would take action against his perceived political enemies if reelected.
“It's so easy. I would fire him within two seconds,” Trump said.
Smith was appointed special counsel by Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland.
A US president does not have the authority to dismiss a special counsel, but if reelected, Trump could appoint a new attorney general who could do so.
A Trump-appointed attorney general could also have any federal cases against him thrown out.
Ammar Moussa, a Harris campaign spokesman, said Trump's comments "are right in line with the warnings made by Trump's former Chief of Staff (John Kelly) that he wants to rule as a dictator with unchecked power."
"A second Trump term, where a more unstable and unhinged Trump has essentially no guardrails and is surrounded by loyalists who will enable his worst instincts, is guaranteed to be more dangerous," Moussa added.
Trump, 78, had been scheduled to go on trial for the election subversion charges in March, but the case was frozen while his lawyers argued that an ex-president should be immune from criminal prosecution.
In July, the Supreme Court ruled that a former president enjoys broad immunity from prosecution for official acts performed while in office, but can still be held accountable for unofficial actions, AFP reported.
Trump faces accusations of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding—specifically the congressional session that was attacked by his supporters on January 6, 2021, while certifying Biden's 2020 election victory.
Additionally, he is charged with attempting to disenfranchise U.S. voters through false claims of winning the 2020 election. In May, Trump was convicted in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
He also faces racketeering charges in Georgia linked to efforts to overturn the election results.
(With inputs from AFP)
