Special Counsel Jack Smith’s unwillingness to end the prosecution of President-elect Trump’s valet and property manager — as demonstrated by his handoff of his Mar-a-Lago classified documents case to the United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida,  an appointee of President Biden — is a last minute maneuver to preserve a precarious prosecution.

Mr. Smith has already given up the Mar-a-Lago case’s ghost with respect to charging Trump for violations of the Espionage Act and sundry conspiracy and obstruction statutes. The special counsel requested that the case be dismissed after the Department of Justice determined that there is a “categorical” prohibition against prosecuting sitting presidents — after Trump won re-election. 

The special counsel, though, originally charged three defendants in the case  — not only Trump, but also his valet Waltine Nauta and Mar-a-Lago’s property manager, Carlos De Oliveira. After refusing to cooperate with Mr. Smith and testify against Trump, they were charged with obstructing federal agents who were attempting to recover the classified documents strewn about the property.  

Messrs. Nauta and De Oliveira have both pleaded “not guilty” and insist that they did not know the contents of the boxes prosecutors allege contained some of the nation’s most closely guarded secrets. Mr. De Oliveira’s attorneys, in a court filing earlier this year, insisted that their client “had no clue” that the boxes he moved around the property contained classified materials. Mr. Nauta explained that the transition to Mar-a-Lago from the White House was “literally chaos” and that Trump stored personal effects in the boxes.

Prosecutors told a different story, one that featured loyal employees helping their boss break the law by conspiring to obstruct justice — and by lying to both federal agents and members of Trump’s own legal team. The government pointed to deleted security footage and the testimony of a witness they did get to cooperate, Yuscil Taveras, who managed information technology for Mar-a-Lago. 

The presidential immunity that Trump will enjoy beginning on January 20, though, does not cover those in his employ.  Good news, though, for Messrs. Nauta and De Oliveira came in the form of Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling that Mr. Smith was unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Garland and that the blunder is significant enough that it can only be remedied by a dismissal of all charges. Mr. Smith appealed that ruling to the 11th United States Appeals Circuit before Trump’s triumph in November. 

Mr. Smith on Monday informed the appellate court that he intends to withdraw from the case — but that he is not moving to dismiss charges against Messrs. Nauta and De Oliveira. Instead, he is handing off the prosecution to the United States attorney for Southern Florida — Markenzy Lapointe. Mr. Lapointe, who was born in Haiti and clerked for a judge on the Florida Supreme Court, Harry Lee Anstead, was nominated by President Biden.

Mr. Lapointe, in a separate filing, entered his appearance in the case. That means that he intends to prosecute it — at least for now. Once Trump takes the oath of office, he will possess the ability to fire Mr. Lapointe, who lacks even the limited protections against termination afforded to special counsels. 

Customarily, United States attorneys submit their resignations when a new president takes office, and almost all of them are replaced if the new president is from an opposing party. They can, though,  remain in their roles until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate. 

Firing United States attorneys can create problems for the White House, as President George W. Bush learned when he fired seven of them on one day 18 years ago and ended up being investigated by Congress.

Mr. Biden kept one of Trump’s appointments for United States attorney, David Weiss of Delaware, in place for his entire term. Mr. Weiss was investigating the president’s son Hunter and the White House, at the time, wanted to maintain an appearance of not interfering with the probe.

While a permanent United States attorney for Southern Florida would need Senate confirmation — the imprimatur Mr. Smith lacks  — an acting appointment could likely end the case against Messrs. Nauta and De Oliveira. Since the passage of the Patriot Act after September 11, 2001, interim United States attorneys can serve indefinitely, skirting Senate confirmation.

Mr. Lapointe is also supervising the prosecution of one of Trump’s would-be assassins, Ryan Routh. He was discovered hiding in the shrubbery at one of Trump’s golf courses while toting an assault rifle. The judge presiding over that case is none other than Judge Cannon. She has been discussed for a possible appointment in Trump’s second term  — possibly on the Supreme Court, should a vacancy arise.