麻豆影视

Skip to main content

Trump says if he takes office, he'll fire special counsel Jack Smith 'within 2 seconds'

Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 1, 2023. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photo) Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 1, 2023. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photo)
Share
WASHINGTON -

Donald Trump said Thursday that if he wins the White House, he will fire special counsel Jack Smith 鈥渨ithin two seconds鈥 of taking office.

Trump was asked during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt whether he would first pardon himself or terminate Smith to remove the legal cloud hanging over him. Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022, has charged the former president over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so easy. I would fire him within two seconds,鈥 Trump responded. 鈥淗e鈥檒l be one of the first things addressed.鈥

Trump, who regularly assails Smith and has suggested before that he would fire him if he were president, called Smith a 鈥渃rooked person.鈥

Trump, if elected, could order the Justice Department to remove Smith. Trump probably would not be able to do it on his own because Smith is not a presidential appointee.

When Trump, while president, was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller, Trump urged his then-White House counsel, Don McGahn, to press the Justice Department to terminate Mueller. McGahn refused.

Smith has brought two federal cases against Trump. One, accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, was dismissed in July, a decision that Smith is appealing. The other, charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has been delayed by a Supreme Court opinion conferring broad immunity for official acts made while president.

After Trump said he would fire Smith, Hewitt raised the possibility that Congress could impeach Trump over that move. Trump said he did not believe that would happen.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they鈥檒l impeach me if I fire Jack Smith,鈥 Trump said. 鈥淛ack Smith is a scoundrel.鈥

Democrat Kamala Harris鈥檚 campaign has sought to use revelations from Smith鈥檚 investigations into Trump against the Republican candidate. They released an ad earlier this month that featured video from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and headlines from Smith鈥檚 investigation.

鈥淗e knew what he was doing,鈥 the ad shows on screen.

While Trump criticized Smith, he praised U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee who dismissed the classified documents case against the former president in July.

鈥淲e had a brave, brilliant judge in Florida,鈥 Trump said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a brilliant judge, by the way. I don鈥檛 know her. I never spoke to her. Never spoke to her. But we had a brave and very brilliant judge.鈥

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

There appears to be an end in sight for the strange predicament of a B.C. woman who was being paid by the federal government for a job she was hired for but never actually did.

The mother of a 17-year-old victim in a mass slaying in Manitoba is suing a child welfare agency for allegedly failing to protect the girl.

Trudeau's Liberals launching new ads, MPs told in caucus meeting

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced his caucus for the first time Wednesday since rebuffing calls from two dozen Liberals to resign. He seemed to satiate some MPs鈥 concerns, with a presentation on party campaign strategy that includes rolling out new ads.

A long-time animal foster said the recent behaviour of her dog and cat is something she had never witnessed.

Local Spotlight

A Halifax junk remover shares some of his company鈥檚 strangest discoveries.

When Leah arrived at work directing traffic around a construction site, she never expected to see a van painted in all sorts of bright colours, and covered in eclectic decorations, including a stuffed moose attached to its roof.

After 14 years of repairing and selling bicycles out of the garage of her home, a Guelph, Ont. woman鈥檚 efforts have ended 鈥 for now, at least.

Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.

Witches and warlocks have been flocking to New Brunswick waterways this month, as a new Halloween tradition ripples across the province.

New Brunswicker Jillea Godin鈥檚 elaborate cosplay pieces attract thousands to her online accounts, as well as requests from celebrities for their own pieces.

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.