 Smith did not work under the imprimatur of the Department of Justice when he took the job as special counsel. You're supposed to be employed by the Justice Department. That's who's supposed to get the job, someone who's already on the payroll. Thomas wrote, a private citizen cannot criminally prosecute anyone, let alone a former president. No former president has faced criminal prosecution for his acts while in office in more than the 200 years since the founding of our country. He continues,