美国前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)周四宣布了他连任后的第一项任务:解雇在两起联邦案件中起诉他的特别顾问。
他对杰克·史密斯的评论立即遭到了副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯竞选团队的反对，他们声称这位前总统好像凌驾于法律之上。
然而，史密斯未来的后勤以及他在特朗普可能的第二个任期中的调查并不明确。
特朗普周四致电“休·休伊特秀”，被问及如果连任，是否会解雇史密斯。
“我们在最高法院获得了豁免权。太简单了。我会在两秒钟内解雇他。他将是第一批被处理的事情之一，”特朗普说。
特朗普补充说，他要起诉史密斯。
节目播出后，哈里斯的竞选团队几乎立即谴责了特朗普的言论。
竞选发言人阿玛尔·穆萨在一份声明中说，特朗普的评论符合警告信息特朗普前幕僚长约翰·凯利(John Kelly)警告称，特朗普的行为像个法西斯。
“特朗普的第二个任期，一个更加不稳定和精神错乱的特朗普基本上没有护栏，周围都是支持他最糟糕本能的忠诚者，肯定会更加危险。美国不能冒险让特朗普连任，”穆萨说。
虽然特朗普如果连任，将有权指示他的司法部长解雇特别顾问，但不清楚他是否必须发布任何命令，让司法部驳回对他的起诉。根据国务院的长期政策，特朗普上任后，任何正在进行的针对他的联邦案件都可能会停止。
该政策和法律顾问办公室的内部意见指出，在任总统不能面临起诉或被刑事起诉，因为这"将不可允许地损害行政部门履行宪法赋予其职能的能力"。
特朗普对史密斯的攻击是最近对特别顾问和司法部的攻击长达两年的调查他涉嫌的犯罪活动。
2022年11月，司法部长梅里克·加兰(Merrick Garland)任命史密斯担任这一职务，以调查特朗普及其盟友推翻2020年大选的努力，以及特朗普涉嫌非法持有他在白宫任职期间获得的高度机密文件。他曾担任海牙特别法庭的首席检察官，该法庭负责调查科索沃的战争罪行。
史密斯传唤了特朗普的几名盟友和家庭成员在大陪审团面前作证，包括伊万卡·特朗普和前副总统迈克·彭斯。
2023年6月8日，史密斯起诉特朗普，指控他非法保留机密文件，并阻挠政府检索这些文件。特朗普在佛罗里达州的一家联邦法院对指控不认罪。
2023年8月1日，特朗普被指控犯有与他试图推翻2020年大选有关的四项重罪。特朗普在华盛顿特区的联邦法院辩称无罪
这两起案件都陷入了拖延，因为特朗普对起诉的各个方面提出了上诉，包括特朗普在其联邦选举颠覆案中提出的豁免权挑战，该案一直上诉到最高法院。
今年7月，法院保守派多数裁定，特朗普有权因推翻2020年大选结果的行动而免于刑事起诉，并将案件发回初审法院，以理清哪些行为明显超出了他作为总统的官方职责范围。
最高法院做出裁决两周之后，美国佛罗里达州南区地方法院法官艾琳·坎农(Aileen Cannon)驳回了机密文件案，裁定史密斯担任特别顾问的任命违宪，因为他不是由总统任命的，也没有得到国会的确认。
史密斯正在对这一决定提出上诉，并在他的华盛顿联邦案件中单独对特朗普提出了替代起诉书，在本月早些时候的一份文件中提出了详细的论据，说明为什么特朗普的行为促进了他的个人利益，不在他的公务范围内。
特朗普还在等待对他在纽约伪造商业记录的34项重罪的判决，以及在佐治亚州富尔顿县对他试图推翻2020年大选的可能刑事审判。
Trump says he'll fire Jack Smith 'within 2 seconds' if he's elected
Former President Donald Trump laid out Thursday what could be his first order of business if re-elected: firing the special counsel who indicted him in two federal cases.
And his comments against Jack Smith were met with immediate pushback from Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, echoing their claims that the former president is acting as if he's above the law.
However, the logistics of Smith's future and his investigations in a potential Trump second term are not as clear cut.
Trump called into the "Hugh Hewitt Show" on Thursday and was asked if he would fire Smith if re-elected.
"We got immunity at the Supreme Court. It's so easy. I would fire him within two seconds. He'll be one of the first things addressed," Trump said.
Trump added that he was going to sue Smith.
Almost immediately after the show was broadcast, Harris' campaign condemned Trump's comments.
Campaign spokeswoman Ammar Moussa said in a statement that Trump's comments were in line with thewarningsby former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly, who warned that Trump was acting like a fascist.
"A second Trump term, where a more unstable and unhinged Trump has essentially no guardrails and is surrounded by loyalists who will enable his worst instincts, is guaranteed to be more dangerous. America can't risk a second Trump term," Moussa said.
While Trump would have the authority to direct his attorney general to fire the special counsel if reelected, it's not clear if he would have to issue any order to have the Justice Department dismiss its prosecutions against him. Any ongoing federal cases against Trump would likely halt once he assumes office, according to longstanding department policy.
That policy and internal Office of Legal Counsel opinions state that a sitting president cannot face indictment or be criminally prosecuted as it "would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions."
Trump's attack on Smith was the latest against the special counsel and the Justice Department in their nearlytwo-year-long investigationinto his alleged criminal activity.
Smith was appointed to his position by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to investigate Trump and his allies' efforts to overturn the 2020 election as well as Trump's alleged unlawful possession of highly classified documents he took from his time in the White House. He previously served as the chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague charged with investigating war crimes in Kosovo.
Smith subpoenaed several of Trump's allies and family members to testify before a grand jury, including Ivanka Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.
On June 8, 2023, Smith indicted Trump on charges he unlawfully retained classified documents and obstructed the government's efforts to retrieve them. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in a federal court in Florida.
On Aug. 1, 2023, Trump was indicted on four felony counts related to his efforts to overthrow the 2020 election. Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Both cases were mired in delays as Trump appealed various aspects of the prosecutions, including an immunity challenge brought by Trump in his federal election subversion case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court.
In July, the court's conservative majority ruled that Trump was entitled to some immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and sent the case back to the trial court to sort out which acts fell clearly outside the scope of his official duties as president.
Two weeks after the Supreme Court decision, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee, dismissed the classified documents case, ruling Smith's appointment as Special Counsel was unconstitutional because he was not appointed by the president or confirmed by Congress.
Smith is appealing that decision and separately filed a superseding indictment against Trump in his D.C. federal case, presenting detailed arguments in a filing earlier this month about why Trump's actions advanced his personal interests and were not within his official duties.
Trump also awaits sentencing for his May conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York and a possible criminal trial in Fulton County, Georgia, over his attempts to overthrow the 2020 election.
