Tag: Jack Smith

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Donald Trump Justice Department

Jack Smith Has The Perfect Way To Put Trump In A Legal Bind On His Way Out As Special Counsel

As he prepares to resign before Donald Trump takes office on January 20 of next year, Special Counsel Jack Smith has a way to make sure that Trump has to make a painful choice as he attempts to get the federal criminal cases against him permanently dismissed.

That’s the word from former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, who explained what Smith is likely to do in his last days as special counsel.

Speaking with MSNBC’s Katie Phang, McQuade explained the two choices Smith has.

“I have heard from a number of people saying, why should Jack Smith pull the plug on his own case, why not just let Trump just fire him, make him go through that exercise so that people can see that it was Trump who ended this?” she noted. “And I think it is because Jack Smith can have a lot more control if he ends it on his own terms.”

“There are a couple of things he can do,” McQuade continued. “One, as you say, is to issue a full-throated report on both of the cases; the January 6th election interference case, as well as the documents case in Florida ––those two things. The other thing he could do, Katie, and I don’t know if this would withstand all of the machinations that Trump will certainly try to put up against it –– to dismiss the cases without prejudice, and make the argument later that the statute of limitations is tolled during the Trump presidency and revive the cases in 2029.”

“I think there is a 50-50 shot that succeeds, so if he ends it now with prejudice, that keeps those cases alive. It would put the Trump administration in the untenable spot of either accepting that or having to refile the cases just so they can dismiss them with prejudice.”

McQuade concluded, “So, we will see how that goes, but I think this keeps Jack Smith’s hands in control rather than leaving it in the hands of the next Department of Justice.”

In other words, the federal case against Donald Trump is far from finished, and it could well be restarted once he leaves the White House in 2029.

The bar of justice isn’t finished with the disgraced felon president-elect.

Here’s the video of McQuade’s conversation with Phang:

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Donald Trump Justice Department

Jack Smith Can Still Do Damage To Donald Trump – Here’s How

According to a report from NBC News, the Department of Justice and Special Counsel Jack Smith are seeking a way to “wind down” the two criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump, meaning that he will likely face no consequences for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and improper handling of classified documents.

“Now that Trump will become president again, DOJ officials see no room to pursue either criminal case against him — and no point in continuing to litigate them in the weeks before he takes office, the people said.”

However, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance and national security reporter Marcy Wheeler say that doesn’t mean that Smith can’t do serious damage to Trump as he closes out those cases.

Vance explained her thoughts on Substack, writing:

At the conclusion of a special counsel’s investigation, section 600.9(a)(3) of the Special Counsel Regulations requires the Attorney General to provide Congressional leadership with “a description, and explanation of instances (if any)” where the Attorney General overruled an action the special counsel wanted to take. That requirement would be triggered if Smith proposed moving forward despite DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president (there were earlier reports he intended to continue his work through inauguration day), and the Attorney General countermanded him because of existing policy. It’s hard to assess what value a report like that might have, beyond information and evidence Smith’s court filings have already made public. It would at least guarantee there would be a permanent public record that would survive Trump’s certain demand that the Justice Department kill the cases against him.

In other words, the cases might not move forward, but the investigation would still see the light of day, which could be a proverbial albatross around Trump’s neck. And that might weaken him politically as he moves forward with his extreme right-wing agenda. It could also serve as the basis for a new criminal prosecution after Trump leaves office.

National Security reporter Marcy Wheeler also pointed to the report Smith must write and submit to his superiors at the DOJ.

“According to governing regulations, when a Special Counsel finishes his work, he must write a report to the Attorney General.”

She added:

“By telling the press that Smith is already working on shutting down the cases, Smith pre-empts any effort from Trump to offer another solution — and does so before Trump files his response to the immunity brief on November 21.”

“In other words, this may be no more than an effort to get one more bite at the apple, to describe what Smith found, which would be particularly important if there are still undisclosed aspects of the case, as I suggested there might be.”

We’re all familiar with the adage, “He laughs last laughs loudest.” And it appears Jack Smith is on the verge of having one hell of a last laugh right as Trump is raising his hand and taking the oath of office next January.

 

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Crime Donald Trump Elections

New Court Filing From Jack Smith Is The Worst Possible News At The Worst Possible Time For Trump

A filing made late Friday by Special Counsel Jack Smith is terrible news for failed former president Donald Trump, especially since he’s right in the middle of trying to win the 2024 election and doesn’t need more negative publicity with his poll numbers already tanking.

The 10-page filing contains one line in particular which should send a chill up Trump’s spine, Politico reports.

Smith notes in the filing that he is willing to proceeed with the case “promptly at any time the Court deems appropriate,” and it also includes a line that will worry Trump and his attorneys, according to former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner, who appeared on MSNBC to discuss the matter.

“There is one what I would call money line, and it’s on page two,” Kirscher began.

“Here is what I would call the money line: [Smith] says that the government, the prosecutors propose that it will file a brief in which we will explain why immunity does not apply to the categories of allegations in the superseding, the new indictment … ‘or additional unplanned categories of evidence that the government intends to introduce in trial and will put in this brief.'”

“What does that mean?” Kirschner continued. “Jack Smith just said, ‘Judge Chutkan, I’m going to put lots of other information and evidence about Donald Trump’s crimes and conduct so you have it all. So you can make a decision about whether each thing Donald Trump did was official or unofficial, might enjoy immunity, or should not enjoy immunity.'”

While the Supreme Court did indeed give Trump some immunity with a 6-3 ruling handed down in July, Kirschner explained, that immunity isn’t absolute and the high court made it clear individual judges will be left to decide what is covered by presidential immunity.

“What remains to be seen is when will Judge Chutkan say ‘okay, we’re going to litigate this issue. I want the briefs.’ Will they be September, will they be October?” Kirschner said. “Because those briefs, according to what Jack Smith said, are likely to contain a whole bunch of information that the grand jury knows about Donald Trump’s crimes, but that the American people do not yet know about.”

New information and evidence about how Trump allegedly tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election so he could remain in office might prove devastating, especially since voters are already leery of putting Donald back in office.

In other words, the filing from Smith is the worst possible news at the worst possible time and could be what winds up sending Trump to prison for a very long time.

Here’s the video of Kirschner’s MSNBC appearance:

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Elections

Former U.S. Attorney: Jack Smith Can Still Do Tremendous Damage To Trump Before The Election

Even though there’s almost zero chance that any of the federal criminal cases against convicted felon Donald Trump will go to trial before the election in November, Special Counsel Jack Smith can still do tremendous damage to the disgraced ex-president in the months leading up to balloting.

That’s the warning from former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade who appeared on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” this morning and told the hosts, “It is not just the defendant, it is the public that has a right to a speedy trial. I think the more progress he [Smith] could make before president-elect Donald Trump goes into office, the more he can do at the other end.”

“You do not have to go back to a grand jury to remove things from an indictment where they already found probable cause,” she continued. “So he can pare this down to just those acts that he believes are official acts and go for it. Certainly, it will be litigated but the public will have an opportunity to see what the unofficial acts were: Organizing false slates of electors, pressuring state officials to flip the outcome of the election, and exploiting the chaos at the Capitol on January 6 to try to press legislators to delay the certification.”

McQuade added, “All of that, I think, is entitled to a public hearing. Of course, also the documents case out of Florida. Judge Aileen Cannon has made no effort to act with urgency. — no reason that case can’t proceed all the way through January to see how much progress they make.”

Every new detail Smith exposes in the months before Americans go to the polls could prove damaging to Trump’s already shaky prospects of winning a second term as president. And in an election that’s already expected to be close, those details could be a giant albatross for him.

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Crime Donald Trump January 6

Jack Smith Has Obtained ‘Powerful’ New Evidence That Proves Trump’s Intent On Jan. 6

New recordings obtained by Special Counsel Jack Smith regarding efforts by the Trump administration to block certification of the 2020 election provide powerful new evidence that prove failed former president Donald Trump’s intent to commit criminal acts, according to legal experts.

The recordings, which were first made public by CNN this week, suggest that Trump and those allied with him flew fake elector ballots to Washington D.C. so they could replace the real ballots with ones that would be favorable to the disgraced ex-president.

Two days before the January 6 insurrection, the Trump campaign’s plan to use fake electors to block President-elect Joe Biden from taking office faced a potentially crippling hiccup: The fake elector certificates from two critical battleground states were stuck in the mail.

So, Trump campaign operatives scrambled to fly copies of the phony certificates from Michigan and Wisconsin to the nation’s capital, relying on a haphazard chain of couriers, as well as help from two Republicans in Congress, to try to get the documents to then-Vice President Mike Pence while he presided over the Electoral College certification.

The operatives even considered chartering a jet to ensure the files reached Washington, DC, in time for the January 6, 2021, proceeding, according to emails and recordings obtained by CNN.

The recordings are of Trump-aligned lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who devised the fake elector scheme and is now cooperating with prosecutors.

Former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams had this to say about the recordings:

“It’s one thing for a jury to read a transcript or even hear someone talk about things they heard somebody else say, it is another thing to hear voices to have sort of an evocative effect, that is more valuable and powerful.”

The tapes, Williams continued, “could be introduced as evidence showing the state mind of not just of the former president, or people around him who knew what they were doing and attempting to take all efforts to get these fake or alternate — their argument is — ballots to Washington, D.C.., it can speak to intent.”

CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen concurred with Williams.

“And the reason those details about the elaborate plan to get all the materials to Washington for Jan. 6 matters so much is they go directly to the intent here.”

He added, “This wasn’t just, as it started out, a preventive measure in case Trump won court cases,” Eisen said. “This was an active alleged conspiracy to have Mike Pence and Congress block the rightful winner of the election from taking office, and Jack Smith has said that that is a criminal conspiracy. And it’s hard to understand how lawyers and other professionals couldn’t see why that was wrong.”

With each day, new and damning evidence comes to light that will help the special counsel make the case against Trump, who is reportedly terrified that he will indeed be found guilty and spend the rest of his life in prison.

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