WASHINGTON — Donald Trump said Thursday that if he wins the White House, he will fire special counsel Jack Smith "within two seconds" of taking office. Trump was asked during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt whether he would first pardon himself or terminate Smith to remove the legal cloud hanging over him. Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022, has charged the former president over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents.
"It's so easy. I would fire him within two seconds," Trump responded. "He'll be one of the first things addressed.
" Trump, who regularly assails Smith and has suggested before that he would fire him if he were president, called Smith a "crooked person." Trump, if elected, could order the Justice Department to remove Smith. Trump probably would not be able to do it on his own because Smith is not a presidential appointee.
When Trump, while president, was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller, Trump urged his then-White House counsel, Don McGahn, to press the Justice Department to terminate Mueller. McGahn refused. Smith has brought two federal cases against Trump.
One, accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, was dismissed in July, a decision that Smith is appealing. The other, charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has been delayed by a Supreme Court opinion conferri.