Special counsel Jack Smith and his team at the Justice Department who investigated and charged Donald Trump will step down before the president-elect takes office and potentially makes good on a promise to fire him, The New York Times and NBC News reported Wednesday.

Jack Smith, the special counsel who led two federal criminal cases against Donald Trump, is expected to leave the Justice Department before the president-elect takes office, CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, reports.

Special counsel Jack Smith continues to discuss with Justice Department leadership the mechanics of winding down the federal prosecutions of Donald Trump, with the intention of stepping down before the former president returns to the White House,