WASHINGTON () Special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, said in a new report that he believes the evidence against the president-elect was enough to convict him had he not won the 2024 election.

“Indeed, but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Smith wrote in the 137-page report.

The report, arriving just days before Trump returns to office on Jan. 20, focuses fresh attention on his frantic but failed effort to cling to power in 2020. 

Special counsel defends prosecuting Trump

Smith defended his prosecution of the president-elect in the report, stating his team “stood up for the rule of law” and said they set an example to fight for justice.

Smith alleged that then-President Trump knowingly spread false claims of election fraud, claiming Trump weaponized those lies to try to stay in power.

“The throughline of all of Mr. Trump’s criminal efforts was deceit knowingly false claims of election fraud and the evidence shows that Mr. Trump used these lies as a weapon to defeat a federal government function foundational to the United States’ democratic process,” the report states.

The special counsel also detailed how Trump allegedly used his status on social media to target witnesses, courts and U.S. Department of Justice employees, adding his office had to protect witnesses from threats and harassment.

“A significant challenge that the office faced after Mr. Trump’s indictment was his ability and willingness to use his influence and following on social media to target witnesses, courts and department employees,” the report states.

Read the full report:

Trump slams Smith’s report

Trump responded early Tuesday on his Truth Social platform, calling Jack Smith “deranged” and claiming he was “totally innocent”:

“Deranged Jack Smith was unable to successfully prosecute the Political Opponent of his ‘boss,’ Crooked Joe Biden, so he ends up writing yet another “Report” based on information that the Unselect Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs ILLEGALLY DESTROYED AND DELETED, because it showed how totally innocent I was, and how completely guilty Nancy Pelosi, and others, were. Jack is a lamebrain prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the Election, which I won in a landslide. THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN!!!”

The president-elect promised to fire Smith when he returned to the White House. Smith submitted his report to the DOJ on Jan. 7 and resigned as special counsel on Jan. 10.

Trump had been indicted in August 2023 on charges of working to overturn the election, but the case was delayed by appeals and ultimately significantly narrowed by a conservative-majority Supreme Court, which held for the first time that former presidents enjoy sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.

Though Smith sought to salvage the indictment, the team dismissed it entirely in November because of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.