Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would fire Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought two federal cases against him, “within two seconds” if he wins the United States presidential election.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt, just 12 days before the election.
When Hewitt asked whether he would pardon himself or dismiss Smith on his first day back in the White House, Trump said: “It’s so easy. I would fire him within two seconds.”
Reacting to his comments, US vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris accused Trump of thinking he was “above the law”.
Why is Trump targeting Smith?
Smith was first appointed to his position by Attorney-General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to oversee the investigations into Trump.
He is currently leading the US government’s two criminal cases against the former president: one regarding Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the 2020 election and another concerning his alleged unlawful possession of highly classified documents he took from his time in the White House.
Jack Smith was first appointed in November 2022 to oversee investigations into the former president Donald Trump. Source: Getty / Alex Wong
In July, the classified documents case was dismissed by District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, ruling Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional because he was not appointed by the president or confirmed by Congress.
However, Smith has since appealed the dismissal.
Hours after Trump’s “two seconds” remarks, his legal team once again requested a federal court to dismiss the election interference case, alleging that Smith was illegally funded and appointed — citing the same grounds that Cannon used.
Can Trump really fire Smith?
A US president does not have the authority to dismiss a special counsel, as this position is appointed to serve as a more independent investigator than the attorney-general. Only the attorney-general has the power to hire or fire the special counsel.
However, Trump has been transparent about his intention to appoint a loyalist as attorney-general if reelected, which would enable that person to withdraw the justice department from the two pending criminal cases against him.
He previously attempted to , who investigated his ties to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Ultimately, he backed down after White House counsel Don McGahn threatened to resign if Trump continued to pursue Mueller’s dismissal.
A ‘more dangerous’ second Trump term
Trump was set to go on trial in March for election subversion charges, but the case was paused as his lawyers argued that .
The Supreme Court ruled in July that while a former president has immunity for official acts, they can still be prosecuted for unofficial actions.
Trump faces accusations of conspiracy to defraud the US and obstructing Congress during the 2021 Capitol attack. He is also charged with racketeering in Georgia for efforts to overturn the 2020 election and was convicted in May of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult star Stormy Daniels.
On Thursday, Trump told Hewitt that he didn’t believe firing Smith would have repercussions, despite Hewitt’s warning that Democrats might impeach him for it.
“I don’t think they will impeach me if I fire Jack Smith,” Trump said.
Ammar Moussa, a Harris campaign spokesperson, said Trump’s comments “are right in line with 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.”
With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse.
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