Special counsel Jack Smith personally denounces Trump's conduct, calls his accusations 'laughable'

In a final rebuke to the former president he investigated and prosecuted for more than two years, special counsel Jack Smith personally denounced Donald Trump for levying "laughable" and baseless attacks on the federal prosecutors who brought two criminal cases against him.

The stark criticism of the president-elect was included in a letter, obtained by ABC News, that Smith sent Attorney General Merrick Garland last week accompanying his final report detailing his election interference investigation into the former-and-future president.

Smith, in the letter, defended his conduct as fully lawful, free of partisan influence, and vital to the aspirations of the justice system.

"While we were not able to bring the cases we charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team stood up for the rule of law matters. I believe the example our team set for others to fight for justice without regard for the personal costs matters. The facts, as we uncovered them in our investigation and as set forth in my Report, matter," Smith wrote.

Trump pleaded not guilty in 2023 to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House, and later that year pleaded not guilty to separate charges of undertaking a "criminal scheme" to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Both cases were dropped following Trump's reelection in November due to a longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.

Smith, in his letter to Garland, said that his entire case was guided by the principle that the United States is a "government of laws, and not of men" and that no "man in this country is so high that he is above the law."

"As set forth in my Report, after conducting thorough investigations, I found that, with respect to both Mr. Trump's unprecedented efforts to unlawfully retain power after losing the 2020 election and his unlawful retention of classified documents after leaving office, the Principles compelled prosecution. Indeed, Mr. Trump's cases represented ones 'in which the offense [was] the most flagrant, the public harm the greatest, and the proof the most certain,'" Smith wrote.

Directly addressing Trump's repeated allegations that his prosecution has been politically motivated, Smith defended the work of his team and disputed Trump's claims that his prosecution was partisan.

"Throughout my service as Special Counsel, seeking to influence the election one way or the other, or seeking to interfere in its outcome, played no role in our work. My Office had one north star: to follow the facts and law wherever they led. Nothing more and nothing less," Smith wrote.

Smith also reiterated that his decision to bring the Justice Department's cases against Trump was fully his own, denying Trump's allegation that the decision to bring indictments in the case was subject to political influence.

"While I relied greatly on the counsel, judgment, and advice of our team, I want it to be clear that the ultimate decision to bring charges against Mr. Trump was mine. It is a decision I stand behind fully," Smith wrote.

In the letter, Smith acknowledged that his appointment in November 2022 -- the same month Trump announced his presidential campaign -- created a "highly unusual situation" of the executive branch headed by President Joe Biden "conducting criminal investigations regarding his newly declared challenge." However, Smith emphasized that the circumstances of his role never impacted his judgement or his "committed adherence to the rule of law."

"It is equally important for me to make clear that nobody within the Department of Justice ever sought to interfere with, or improperly influence, my prosecutorial decision making," Smith wrote before directly addressing Trump's repeated claims about his integrity.

Since Smith's appointment, Trump has baselessly alleged that he was directed by political actors, attacked Smith's family, and suggested his case was "treasonous."

"And to all who know me well, the claim from Mr. Trump that my decisions as a prosecutor were influenced or directed by the Biden administration or other political actors is, in a word, laughable," Smith wrote.

Smith fiercely defended the work of his team -- who Trump had repeatedly attacked as partisan actors and "thugs" despite their histories as career prosecutors -- as "people of great decency and the highest personal integrity" who endured relentless threats to their safety and attacks on their character to do their jobs.

"These are intensely good people who did hard things well," Smith wrote.

Days before Trump is to be inaugurated president and begin his avowed overhaul of the Department of Justice, Smith said he fully stands by his actions and described his conduct as rooted in longstanding mandate of the DOJ that "power, politics, influence, status, wealth, fear, and favor should not impede justice under the law."

"Experienced prosecutors know that you cannot control outcomes, you can only do your job the right way for the right reasons," he wrote. "I conclude our work confident that we have done so, and that we have met fully our obligations to the Department and to our country."