Jack Smith is the man the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, appointed on Friday to be an independent special counsel overseeing parallel justice department investigations into Donald Trump’s hoarding of top secret documents and involvement in the 6 January 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol, and he has been a criminal prosecutor for almost 30 years.
A native of the Syracuse suburb of Clay, NY, Smith previously served as the chief of public integrity for the US justice department and dealt in particular with cases involving corruption, bringing cases against prominent Republicans and Democrats.
In 2015 he was appointed first assistant US attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
He is a registered independent, not aligned with either of the two dominant political parties in the US.
Smith’s experience ranges from prosecuting a sitting US senator to bringing cases against gang members who were ultimately convicted of murdering New York City police officers.
In recent years, Smith has prosecuted war crimes at The Hague.
His career in multiple parts of the Justice Department, as well as in international courts, has allowed him to keep a relatively low-profile in the oftentimes brassy legal industry.
His experience and resume will allow him, at least at first, to fly underneath the type of political blowback that quickly met former special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
It also shows he is adept at managing complex criminal cases related to both public corruption and national security – and that he has practice making challenging decisions with political implications.
Jack Smith wife: Is the current United States special counsel married?
Jack Smith is married to Katy Chevigny, a documentary filmmaker.
Chevigny was born Katy Gale Chevigny c.1970 to Paul and Bell Gale Chevigny.
Chevigny began working in film in Chicago, then moved to New York City to start Big Mouth Productions with a friend from college, Julia Pimsleur.
Chevigny co-produced Dark Money (2018) with Kimberly Reed.
She co-directed with Ross Kauffman the feature-length documentary E-Team; it won Best Cinematography at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Do they have children?
Jack Smith and wife Katy Chevigny have a daughter.
More update soon