Attorney General Merrick Garland had agreed not to make the special counsel's findings public while the Justice Department appealed a judge's dismissal of the case.

The Justice Department’s second push to prosecute former U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., appears headed to an end under the new management of a Republican president. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed to withdraw the felony charges lodged against the Lincoln Republican in Washington,

Trump has vowed to end the "weaponisation" of the Justice Department and has set about nominating and appointing allies to top posts in the department. Smith himself resigned from the Justice Department shortly before Trump took office, and both federal cases have effectively ended.