Overview

• Special Counsel Jack Smith formally withdrew from the classified documents case involving President-elect Donald Trump, transferring responsibility for co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
• Smith dropped charges against Trump in November, citing Department of Justice policy that prohibits prosecuting a sitting president, but the cases against the co-defendants continue.
• Nauta and De Oliveira face charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements, and concealing classified documents from federal investigators and Trump’s attorney.
• The case stems from the discovery of over 300 classified documents improperly stored at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, with allegations of efforts to hide and mishandle the records.
• An appeal of Judge Aileen Cannon’s dismissal of Smith’s role in the case, based on the constitutionality of his appointment, is ongoing in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.