Bureau of Prisons No. 2 official who was pardoned for drug crimes departs

Josh Smith, a pardoned drug offender who served as the No. 2 official at the federal Bureau of Prisons, abruptly announced Monday he was leaving the agency without giving a reason for his departure. But he had a tense relationship with some of the BOP's employees, some of whom have also raised questions about contracts awarded during his year-long tenure.

In a post from his personal X account, Smith thanked President Trump for the chance to serve in his administration as BOP's deputy director, an opportunity that arose in 2025 after Mr. Trump pardoned him for drug-related crimes in 2021.

"Three decades ago, I walked through the gates of a federal prison as an inmate. Years later, after receiving a presidential pardon, I was given the opportunity to walk back through those gates as Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, serving the very President that gave me that pardon. For that, I will always be grateful to President Donald J. Trump," Smith wrote.

In a short note to BOP staff on Tuesday morning, director William Marshall formally announced Smith was leaving.

A BOP spokesperson confirmed his departure but offered no additional details.

Smith, in an interview with CBS News, said that his approach to the job entailed overhauling the staffing at the bureau, while also striving to improve rehabilitative services for prisoners so they are prepared when they return to society.

"I believe we should really care about what kind of people we are turning back out into our neighborhoods," he said. "I'm a tough-on-crime person, but I'm restorative in nature because they're going to be my neighbor."

Smith declined to say why he left his role, but he said he didn't need the job. He did acknowledge that the bureaucracy of the federal government made his role difficult at times — and unpopular with some of the rank and file.

"Bureaucracy in government is difficult," he said, adding that he is proud he was able to help switch out about 70% of the executive staff — including several top wardens — and focus on leadership development.

"At the end of the day, bureaucracy is bureaucracy," he added. "I hope what I was able to do was at least start a fire there."

The Trump administration's decision to tap Smith as deputy director was seen as highly controversial, given his criminal record. He pleaded guilty in 1998 to conspiring to possess and distribute cocaine and marijuana, and served a five-year sentence in a BOP prison camp in Kentucky.

After starting his own business, he eventually founded the nonprofit Fourth Purpose Foundation , a faith-based group that works with incarcerated people, and he also runs an adjacent media company called Prison Life Media. In that role, he has worked on prison reform advocacy efforts and rehabilitation programs.

By all accounts, Smith's leadership at the BOP was unconventional — and not just because of his background.

Smith traveled across the country to dozens of prisons and hosted a new podcast called "Transparency Talks." Some of his visits were unannounced, he said in his Linkedin posts.