Two key prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's office have left the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump and returned to their previous roles, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Their departures seemingly indicate that any trial of the former president will not take place for months, if not years, according to the Times.
The sources, who spoke with the Times on condition of anonymity, said that prosecutor Julie Edelstein, who was heavily involved in early court hearings for the case, has returned to the Justice Department's counterintelligence division. David Raskin, who has worked on intelligence-related cases, has returned to the national security division at DOJ headquarters.
The Times reported that they likely won't be the last to exit Smith's team, which was assembled in late 2022 after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed the special counsel to investigate Trump. Smith ultimately brought two cases against the former president, accusing him of mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and attempting to alter the outcome of the 2020 election.
Smith's cases might not go to trial until 2026 or later, however, according to the Times.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over the documents case, dismissed the case in July, ruling that Smith's appointment as special counsel was not legitimate. Smith has appealed that ruling.
According to the Times, if Trump wins his bid for a second White House term on Nov. 5, he is expected to try to put an end to the two cases altogether.
Absent a trial to prepare for, Edelstein and Raskin's workloads would have been significantly lighter than those of prosecutors who specialize in appeals.
Smith's tenure as special counsel could wind up being much longer than those of his recent peers. Robert Mueller, who was appointed in 2017 to probe now-debunked ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, served for approximately two years as special counsel, while Robert Hur, who investigated mishandling of classified documents by President Joe Biden, served in the role for just over a year.
Prosecutor John Durham, who was brought onboard during the Trump administration to examine allegations of governmental misconduct against Trump, began his investigation before his official appointment as special counsel. He served in the position for more than two years.