Trump prosecutor Jack Smith to launch firm with ex-Justice Department lawyers

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By Andrew Goudsward and Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Jack Smith, the former U.S. Justice Department special counsel who prosecuted Republican President Donald Trump following his first term in the White House, is teaming up with three other ex-prosecutors to launch a new law firm.

Smith is starting the firm with Tim Heaphy, David Harbach and Thomas Windom, each a former federal prosecutor with decades of public service. 

Heaphy in a statement said the firm will launch in January and provide full-service legal work, including investigations and litigation. He said the team will design a legal practice focused on “integrity, commitment, and zealous advocacy” for public and private clients. 

The lawyers all played leading roles investigating Trump during his years out of power. Smith and two members of his team, Harbach and Windom, obtained indictments against Trump for attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat and illegally retaining classified documents.

A former Obama-era U.S. Attorney, Heaphy was the lead investigative lawyer for the House of Representatives committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and broader efforts by Trump to hold on to power after losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Heaphy will leave law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which was one of nine firms that struck deals with Trump in April to avert executive orders targeting their business. Heaphy joined Willkie in 2023. 

Willkie, which has defended its deal with the White House, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and neither did the Justice Department. Attorneys for Smith and Windom did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Harbach could not immediately be reached.

After Trump won the 2024 election, Smith dropped the criminal cases he was overseeing, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

The Justice Department under Trump has sharply criticized those cases and fired career prosecutors and FBI agents involved in them, alleging they represented the weaponization of the government against Trump.

Smith has defended his probes and called claims of political influence “ludicrous.” He is set to appear for closed-door testimony before the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee next week.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Mike Scarcella in Washington; Editing by David Bario and Matthew Lewis)