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Special counsel Jack Smith plans to have left Justice Department by the time Trump takes office
Washington — Special counsel Jack Smith is expected to have departed the Justice Department by the time President-elect Donald Trump takes office in late January, two sources familiar with his plans told CBS News, as he and his team make plans to wind down the two federal prosecutions against the incoming president.
By leaving before the start of Trump’s second term, Smith would keep the president-elect from firing him, as Trump has said repeatedly he plans to do. The special counsel is expected to issue a final report, as required by Justice Department rules, though it will likely be more historical than factual.
It’s unclear when the report will be submitted to Attorney General Merrick Garland and likely sent to Congress, as the attorney general has done with reports from other special counsels before they were made public. The New York Times first reported Smith’s plans to step down.
Smith was appointed by Garland two years ago to take over the Justice Department’s investigations into Trump: the first involving his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office at the end of his first term; and the second related to an alleged scheme to subvert the transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election.
The special counsel brought charges last year against Trump as a result of both probes. The president-elect was charged with 40 counts related to the documents marked classified recovered from his South Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, and his alleged attempts to interfere with the Justice Department’s investigation. He was also charged with four counts stemming from what prosecutors said was an unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the last presidential election.
Proceedings in the case related to the 2020 election were paused for several months as Trump pursued claims that he was shielded from federal prosecution by presidential immunity. The Supreme Court ruled in July that former presidents cannot face charges arising from official actions taken while in the White House.
The president-elect pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied any wrongdoing.
But Trump’s defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris last week is likely to bring both prosecutions to a close, and CBS News reported last week that the Justice Department and special counsel’s office are engaged in active discussions about how to wind down the cases.
The Justice Department has a longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Smith last week asked the federal judge overseeing the case related to the 2020 election to cancel the current deadlines to allow he and his team more time to assess the “unprecedented circumstances” arising out of his election to a second term in the White House.
Smith told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan the additional time was necessary to “determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”
Chutkan swiftly granted the request and ordered Smith to submit to her a report “indicating its proposed course for this case going forward” by Dec. 2.
While Smith’s final report is expected to be focused on the history of the cases, the public has gotten a look at the evidence collected by the special counsel and his investigators in court filings.
In the case related to the 2020 election, Chutkan made public last month a key legal brief submitted by Smith that provided an extensive look at the information prosecutors amassed in their case against Trump. And in the documents case, prosecutors included in numerous filings photos from the FBI that showed how Trump kept keepsakes alongside sensitive material in various places at Mar-a-Lago, as well as boxes stacked in a ballroom stage and in a bathroom next to a shower and toilet.
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After a relatively steady path downward for most of the year, inflation rose again in October, according to a Thursday reading from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now at 2.6%, the rate increased by two-tenths of a percentage point, up from September’s 2.4%.
Perhaps more importantly, that came after the Federal Reserve issued a 50 basis point cut to the federal funds rate in September and before another one was issued in November. This means that inflation may be a bit stickier than initially expected – or this could be a temporary blip on the Fed’s path toward its 2% target goal. Only time will tell.
Against this backdrop, borrowers considering a home equity loan may be hesitant to act. After all, a steady increase in inflation could cause interest rates to rise again, making this unique product more expensive than it currently is. Understanding this dynamic, it’s helpful to understand if it’s worth opening a home equity loan with inflation rising again. Below, we’ll explain why it may still be.
Lock in a low home equity loan rate before it can rise here today.
Should you open a home equity loan with inflation rising again?
Not sure if now is still a good time to open a home equity loan. Here are three reasons why it may be worth pursuing even after the recent uptick in inflation:
Rate cuts are still expected
While many borrowers may have become accustomed to interest rate hikes alongside a rise in inflation, that may not be the case this time around. Right now, interest rate cuts are still expected for the Fed’s final 2024 meeting in December. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool pegs it at a 75% chance currently. That would bring the federal funds rate down from a range of 4.50% to 4.75% currently to 4.25% to 4.50%.
That’s not a major reduction, but it will still be better than a rise – and it will make home equity loans even cheaper than they currently are. That said, additional economic data yet to be released could change that forecast. So if you’re considering a home equity loan now it makes sense to be proactive.
See what home equity loan rate you could qualify for online now.
Your financial needs can’t wait
If you’re one of the millions of Americans feeling the financial burden of inflation and higher interest rates, your financial needs may not be able to be put off any further, even with the prospect of lower interest rates ahead. And with the average home equity amount hovering near $330,000, there’s a good chance that you have plenty of equity to utilize now. Consider acting now, then, to improve your financial health.
Home equity loans are still cheaper than the alternatives
The average home equity loan interest rate is 8.41% as of November 14. That’s almost three times cheaper than credit cards (averaging around 23% currently) and about five points cheaper than personal loans (averaging around 13%). Compared to the alternatives, then, home equity loans are still significantly cheaper.
That noted, part of the reason why these products are less expensive has to do with the way they’re borrowed, specifically with the home in question serving as collateral. That’s why it’s critical that borrowers be able to repay all that they’ve withdrawn or they could risk losing their home to the lender in the process.
The bottom line
A rise in the inflation rate isn’t a positive development for borrowers but that doesn’t mean that your options are now limited, either. Home equity loans, in particular, can still be valuable for a variety of reasons. Waiting to act, however, could be problematic if the latest inflation report proves to be a sign of additional economic issues on the horizon. Understanding this potential, prospective borrowers would be well served by exploring their home equity loan options now, while rates are still relatively stable.
Start shopping for home equity loans online today.
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Scathing Justice Dept report says Georgia jail left inmates vulnerable to dangerous conditions
The jail in Georgia’s largest county, Fulton County, leaves its inmates vulnerable to “substantial risk of serious harm from violence” and violates their constitutional and statutory rights, according to a new Justice Department report released Thursday.
After a more than year-long civil rights probe into the Fulton County Jail – which has long been plagued by overcrowding, understaffing and violence — federal investigators concluded detainees are subjected to “dangerous and unsanitary” conditions, like pest infestations and malnourishment. These conditions especially endanger those with mental health conditions, the report found.
“None of these problems are new,” the report said. “And despite widespread awareness of these issues, the unconstitutional and illegal conditions have persisted.”
The Justice Department launched its civil investigation into Fulton County’s jail in July 2023, after at least four Black inmates died in the mental health unit in a matter of weeks, including two who were killed by their cellmates. “Within weeks of opening our investigation, six more Black men had died in the Jail,” the Justice Department revealed. The family of one inmate, Lashawn Johnson, said he died in in the jail in 2022, after he was “eaten alive” by insects and bedbugs. About 91% of the jail’s total population is Black, according to the report, compared to 45% of the overall Fulton County population.
Justice Department investigators conducted multiple site visits, expert consultations and interviews with inmates and staff.
Crumbling infrastructure, failing security, abusive staff and insufficient medical and mental health treatment contributed to the overall unconstitutional conditions described in the report.
According to the county sheriff, 62% of the jail’s inmates suffer from mental health or substance use disorders and the staff failed to provide proper treatment or take steps to mitigate risks of suicide.
“We found that 75% of those who died in the Jail since January 2021 had a current mental health diagnosis or reported a history of mental illness,” the report said.
Justice Department investigators noted in their findings that Fulton County and the sheriff sought to remedy some of the issues, including by surging millions in emergency funding and sending some inmates to detention facilities in other districts.
Still, the problems persisted. In 2024, three men in Fulton County’s main jail have died, including one person who was stabbed 20 times in April. From 2022 to the present, according to the report, “six incarcerated people have died in violent attacks.” All six victims were Black men, the Justice Department said.
Non-lethal violent assaults are also rampant inside the jail. In 2023, the Sheriff’s Office said there were 1,054 assaults and more than 300 stabbings in the jail. The investigation also uncovered a pattern or practice of sexual abuse, according to the report.
Announcing the report’s findings, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Department said officials in Fulton County have taken “preliminary steps” to address the issues outlined in the report, but such measures are “not enough.”
The Justice Department’s report outlines various remedial measures the jail must carry out to improve the conditions, like increased accountability measures for staff, overhauling how the jail secures its facilities from violence and contraband, and ensuring proper suicide prevention measures.
“At the end of the day, people do not abandon their civil and constitutional rights at the jailhouse door,” Clarke said. “We can fix these problems,” she added later.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Justice Department officials on Thursday noted the sheriff had cooperated with the probe.