Tag: Jack Smith

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Crime Donald Trump

Jack Smith Now Has The Sort Of Evidence Against Trump That Juries ‘Eat Up’: Legal Expert

A recording of failed former president Donald Trump and Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel is exactly the sort of evidence that juries “eat up” and will be a major part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election, according to MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos.

Cevallos was asked about the tape, which came to light last week, by MSNBC host Jonathan Lemire and he noted, “There was a lot of talk this last week about, well, could this expose him to liability in a Michigan court? Maybe. But far more interesting to me, having defended federal criminal cases, I can tell you federal court is not a fun place to be for a criminal defense attorney because the government is very good at what they do.”

“If I’m the government I’m thinking they’re looking at this Michigan evidence as what we call 404-B, but all it is is prior bad act evidence that sometimes under certain circumstances can come into a prosecution,” he continued.

“So if I’m Jack Smith, maybe you look at that Michigan evidence or any evidence from any other state and bring that in as evidence in your D.C. court case and say, ‘Look, this is what he was doing elsewhere, this was not a mistake. This is his modus operandi. This all should come in,’ and it can be devastating evidence,” he added. “I can tell you personally that bad act evidence that somebody did something else bad somewhere else is devastating and juries — they eat it up.”

Trump can try and deny that he played an active role in the plot to steal the last presidential election, but his own words and actions condemn him beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Crime Donald Trump WTF?!

Trump’s Attorneys Whine Jack Smith’s SCOTUS Appeal Will Ruin Their Christmas Holiday

Attorneys for failed one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump are now claiming that an appeal for a quick ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether or not Trump is immune from criminal prosecution would be unfair because it would require them and members of their staff to work over the upcoming Christmas holiday.

The Messenger reports this morning that lawyers for the multiply-indicted ex-president all but accused Smith of declaring a personal “war on Christmas” as a way of punishing them and their client.

“This proposed schedule would require attorneys and support staff to work round-the-clock through the holidays, inevitably disrupting family and travel plans,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “It is as if the Special Counsel ‘growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, ‘I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming… But how?’”

Additionally, Trump’s attorneys assert that Smith is engaging in election interference as a strategy to benefit President Joe Biden.

“The prosecution has one goal in this case: To unlawfully attempt to try, convict, and sentence President Trump before an election in which he is likely to defeat President Biden. This represents a blatant attempt to interfere with the 2024 presidential election and to disenfranchise the tens of millions of voters who support President Trump’s candidacy.”

The disgraced former president is facing prosecution in multiple jurisdictions on 91 charges involving his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the illegal storage of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort. If found guilty, Trump could spend the rest of his life in prison.

On Tuesday, Trump shared a posting on his Truth Social site in which a supporter wrote:

It remains to be seen if the highest court in the country agrees.

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Crime Donald Trump Elections January 6

Jack Smith Will Reveal ‘Important Evidence’ Today That Lays Out Trump’s Motives For January 6

Later today, Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to file notice to attorneys for former president Donald Trump of  “any crimes, wrongs, or other bad acts” the Justice Department believes Trump committed in his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost in an electoral landslide to President Joe Biden.

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance notes on Substack that the filing — known formally as a 404(b) notice — is meant to show “evidence of a prior crime, for instance, can be offered to prove ‘motive, opportunity [to commit the crime], intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident.'”

Given what we already know about Smith’s case against Trump, Vance continues, it’s safe to believe that the special counsel is about to reveal “some important evidence” that significantly boosts has case against the ex-president.

Expect him to focus on proving Trump’s state of mind when it comes to election fraud and the absence of a good faith belief that the path he was setting the nation on would not result in the type of obstructive violence we saw on January 6—in other words, it was no mistake. Smith will also have to advise Trump about the permitted purpose he believes he can offer any 404(b) evidence for and the reasoning in support of his view. This, coincidentally, forces Smith (or perhaps gives him the opportunity depending on your point of view), to educate the public a fair bit more about his case.

Trump is also facing federal criminal prosecution for allegedly stealing classified documents from the White House and transporting them to his Mar-a-Lago resort. That case will be heard in a Florida courtroom while the Jan. 6 case it proceeding in Washington, D.C. with U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan presiding. Chutkan has signaled that she intends to start the trial before the 2024 election is held, which could prove politically disastrous for Trump.

Additionally, the former president is being prosecuted for racketeering in Georgia as a result of his attempts to subvert the will of voters in the Peach State. Several co-defendants have already agreed to cooperate with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

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Congress Crime Donald Trump GOP Justice Department

House Republicans Demand Jack Smith Give Them All Trump Indictment Documents – Or Else

Perhaps sensing that the federal criminal case progressing against former president Donald Trump on multiple fronts is closer to becoming a slam dunk for Special Counsel Jack Smith, three members of the House Republican caucus are now demanding that Smith and the Justice Department hand over all of the documents related to Trump’s indictment.

According to Eric Cortellessa of Time Magazine, House Oversight Committee members James Comer (R-KY), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) sent a letter in which they demand “all documents and and communications” between Smith and the DOJ that pertain to Trump or his federal indictments.

The three lawmakers also threatened to use a “compulsory process” if Smith doesn’t comply by Dec. 15.

Specifically, Jordan, Comer, and Luna say they want to know how Smith empaneled grand juries and how he decided what witnesses he would offer immunity in exchange for the testimony. In other words, they want to know everything Smith knows even though they aren’t entitled to such information until after the case has concluded.

What “compulsory process” would be used against Smith? That remains unclear, but it’s safe to say no federal court in the country is going to compel the Justice Department to hand over information related to an ongoing criminal prosecution.

Here’s more from Eric Cortellessa, which he shared on Twitter:

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Crime Donald Trump Justice Department

Jack Smith Is About To Get Trump’s ‘Trove Of Secrets’

A court filing from Special Counsel Jack Smith makes it clear Smith is demanding that failed former president Donald Trump either “put up or shut up” regarding whether or not he wants to use a specific legal defense in the 2020 election interference case brought against him by the Department of Justice, according to a former U.S. Attorney.

Barbara McQuade, who served as U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of Michigan in the Obama administration, notes in an article she wrote for MSNBC that the motion is to the point and could prove devastating for Trump’s legal team and his overall defense.

In a motion filed this week, the special counsel asked Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to order Trump to provide formal pre-trial notice of any intent to rely on advice of counsel as a defense in the federal election interference case. According to the motion, Trump and his lawyers have ‘repeatedly and publicly’ stated an intent to assert the defense at trial. The Dec. 18 exhibit list deadline, Smith argues, is the time for Trump to put up or shut up.

If Trump uses the defense, McQuade explains, he’ll lose the protections found in the attorney-client provisions of the law, which means he could then be forced to turn over any and all documents between him and his lawyers, which is about as risky as it gets when dealing with a criminal case.

Smith’s demand is important because this defense would trigger two significant consequences — a waiver of attorney-client privilege and a duty to produce all documents related to the advice. Until now, Trump has been able to have it both ways — protect testimony and documents from disclosure as privileged, while also claiming that his conduct was lawful because he simply relied on what his lawyers told him.

Those documents could prove especially damning, as they might well show exactly how Trump planned and carried out his attempted coup that culminated in the horror of January 6, 2021.

No matter what happens with the motion in the long run, McQuade concludes, it will force Trump to make a decision that could send him to prison for decades.

Regardless of whether Smith’s motion succeeds, at some point Trump will have to decide whether asserting what may be a flimsy defense is worth sharing his trove of secrets.

Will he or won’t he? We’re about to find out.