New signs that the special counsel is poised to end his Florida case against the president-elect, just as he is winding down his Trump case in Washington.

We’ve recounted that, in his 2020 election-interference prosecution of President-elect Trump in Washington, D.C., Biden-Harris DOJ special counsel Jack Smith was granted his request that all pending proceedings be canceled. Judge Tanya Chutkan also instructed, at Smith’s request, that the prosecutor advise the court by December 2 of his view regarding what should happen to the case. I’ve opined that I believe Smith will file a motion to dismiss the indictment.

Smith, of course, has a second case against Trump — the Mar-a-Lago documents case in Florida. The indictment in that case was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon due to what she determined was the constitutional defect of Smith’s appointment as special counsel. Smith and the Justice Department appealed that ruling, starting a briefing process in the Eleventh Circuit. Both the government and Trump’s team have filed briefs, and Smith is due to file the government’s reply brief tomorrow (Friday, November 15).

On Wednesday, however, Smith asked the Eleventh Circuit to delay the reply-brief deadline until December 2. He explained to the Circuit, as he had to Judge Chutkan, that prosecutors were exploring their options in light of Trump’s victory in the presidential election, the expectation that Congress will ratify that victory in the January 6, 2025, joint session, and the Justice Department’s longstanding policy that a sitting president may not be prosecuted. He also added that Trump’s lawyers consented to the delay (obviously in the belief that Smith is shutting down the case).

As we noted yesterday, Smith has also made it known that he plans to resign from his position in the coming weeks. There is, moreover, no doubt that if Smith were to decline to dismiss the cases against Trump and resign, Trump would fire Smith upon being inaugurated and the incoming Trump-Vance DOJ would dismiss the two cases.

I would expect, then, that on December 2, Smith will inform the Eleventh Circuit that the government is withdrawing its appeal of Judge Cannon’s dismissal of the Florida indictment. Simultaneously, I believe Smith will ask Judge Chutkan to grant the government leave to dismiss the Washington indictment — and that Chutkan will do so. Sometime soon after that, Smith will resign. Lawfare’s federal chapter will be closed.