John L. Smith is an American attorney who has served in the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

(DOJ) as an

assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal go ...

, acting

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

, and as head of the department's Public Integrity Section. He was also the chief prosecutor at the

Kosovo Specialist Chambers The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office (KSC & SPO) is a court of Kosovo, located in The Hague (Netherlands), hosting four ''Specialist Chambers'' and the ''Specialist Prosecutors Office'', which may perform their activi ...

, an international tribunal at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

tasked with investigating and prosecuting

war crimes in the Kosovo War A series of war crimes were committed during the Kosovo War (early 1998 – 11 June 1999). The forces of the Slobodan Milošević regime committed rape, killed many Albanian civilians and expelled them during the war, alongside the widespread ...

. In November 2022, U.S. Attorney General,

Merrick Garland Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...

, appointed Smith an independent

special counsel In the United States, a special counsel (formerly called special prosecutor or independent counsel) is a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest ex ...

, responsible for overseeing two preexisting DOJ criminal investigations into former president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

: an investigation regarding Trump's role in the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack, and an investigation into mishandling of government records, including classified documents.

Early life and education

Smith grew up in

Clay, New York Clay is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 58,206, making it Syracuse's most populous suburb. The town was named after American attorney and statesman Henry Clay. Clay is north of Syracus ...

, a suburb of

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

. In 1987, he graduated from Liverpool High School where he played football and baseball. He earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' from the

State University of New York at Oneonta The State University of New York College at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public college in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneon ...

and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

in 1994.

Career

After graduating from law school, Smith joined the

Manhattan District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ( ...

's office, serving as

Assistant District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...

. He was a member of the

sex crime Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...

s and

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

units of the DA's office. He joined the

United States Attorney's Office United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Eastern District of New York in 1999. As an

assistant U.S. attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

at the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based office, he prosecuted the police officers who sodomized Abner Louima, and secured the death penalty against

Ronell Wilson Ronell Earl Wilson (born May 4, 1982) is an American murderer who was convicted of the 2003 capital murder of two undercover New York City police officers in Staten Island, New York. His trial before Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the United State ...

, who murdered two members of the

New York Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

. From 2008 to 2010, Smith worked as Investigation Coordinator for the

Office of the Prosecutor An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...

. In that position, he oversaw cases against government officials and militia members accused of war crimes and genocide. In 2010, Smith returned to the U.S. to become chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section (PIS). Among his first responsibilities was evaluating current investigations, and he recommended closing investigations into several members of Congress. He spent five years as chief of the PIS, where he prosecuted a variety of corruption cases, including those against

Virginia Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes the ...

Bob McDonnell Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. His career ended after his corruption scandal and convi ...

, U.S. Representative Rick Renzi, New York Assembly Speaker

Sheldon Silver Sheldon Silver (February 13, 1944 – January 24, 2022) was an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, and convicted felon from New York City who served as speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 2015. A native of Manhattan's ...

, and Jeffrey Sterling, a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

agent who shared national secrets. In 2015, Smith became an assistant U.S. attorney in the

Middle District of Tennessee The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (in case citations, M.D. Tenn.) is the federal trial court for most of Middle Tennessee. Based at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Nashville ...

, at

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

. He became the Acting United States Attorney in March 2017 upon the resignation of David Rivera, and resigned effective September 2017 after the nomination of Donald Q. Cochran. Smith became the vice president and head of litigation for

Hospital Corporation of America HCA Healthcare is an American for-profit operator of health care facilities that was founded in 1968. It is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and, as of May 2020, owns and operates 186 hospitals and approximately 2,000 sites of care, including sur ...

in 2017. On May 7, 2018, Smith was named to a four-year term as chief prosecutor for the

in The Hague, investigating war crimes committed in the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

, including the case of Salih Mustafa. He took up the post on September 11, 2018, and was appointed to a second term on May 8, 2022.

United States special counsel

On November 18, 2022,

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

appointed Smith

to oversee the criminal investigations into

's actions regarding the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then- U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in p ...

, and Trump's handling and storage of government records, including classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. He worked initially from the Netherlands while recovering from a fractured leg which was injured when he was struck by a scooter while cycling. Smith has since returned to the United States.

Awards

* US Department of Justice Director's Award * US Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service * Federal Bar Association's Younger Federal Attorney Award * Eastern District Association's Charles Rose Award * Henry L. Stimson Medal of the New York County Bar Association * Harvard Law School Wasserstein Fellowship

Personal life

Smith is a competitive

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

despite not becoming a swimmer until he was in his mid-thirties. In July 2011, he married

Katy Chevigny Katy Gale Chevigny (born ) is an American documentary filmmaker. She has produced or directed more than 30 documentary films and won a number of awards for her work. Early life and education Chevigny was born in to Bell Gale Chevigny and Paul ...

, a documentary filmmaker known for '' Becoming'', an award-winning 2020 documentary of

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

. They have a daughter. The couple has been living in the Netherlands since 2018.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jack Assistant United States Attorneys Harvard Law School alumni Living people People from Clay, New York New York (state) lawyers State University of New York at Oneonta alumni International Criminal Court prosecutors Special prosecutors January 6 United States Capitol attack Year of birth missing (living people)