Tag: jack smith
Jack Smith

Special Counsel January 6 Report Blasts Trump's 'Unprecedented Crimes'

Special Counsel Jack Smith released his report on the election interference case against Donald Trump on Monday night. The report summarized the case against Trump for his role in attempting to subvert and steal the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.

Smith pulled the plug on the two federal cases against Trump following his 2024 election victory. Trump had been charged with multiple counts of defrauding the country, as well as obstructing official proceedings. He was also charged with multiple federal offenses for hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

In the report, Smith writes that Trump was “engaged in an unprecedented criminal effort to overturn the legitimate results of the election in order to retain power” and “attempted to use the power and authority of the United States Government in furtherance of his scheme.”

The report notes that Trump attempted to get state officials to ignore election results showing millions of people had voted for Biden and instead pressured them to certify him as the winner, tried to get states to send fake electors for certification by the Electoral College, and pressured officials at the Department of Justice to call the election “corrupt.”

Trump followed up these actions by directing “an angry mob to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification of the presidential election and then leverage rioters' violence to further delay it,” the report details, in reference to the January 6 attack.

Smith concludes that “the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” and that only Trump’s election win prevented that outcome.

The report finally surfaced after Trump’s lawyers attempted to hold up the document’s release and after pro-Trump U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon initially blocked the public from seeing the outcome of Smith’s investigation.

On social media, Trump raged about the release of the report.

“Deranged Jack Smith was unable to successfully prosecute the Political Opponent of his ‘boss,’ Crooked Joe Biden, so he ends up writing yet another ‘Report’ based on information that the Unselect Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs ILLEGALLY DESTROYED AND DELETED, because it showed how totally innocent I was, and how completely guilty Nancy Pelosi, and others, were,” Trump wrote.

In his post, Trump also lied and claimed that he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in a “landslide.” Trump’s margin of victory in the popular vote was 1.5 percent. By contrast, in the 2020 election he tried to steal, he lost to Biden by 4.5 percent.

Trump will never face a penalty for the allegations in the report, but he was convicted of multiple charges in New York for attempting to cover up his affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. When he takes the oath of office on January 20, he will be the first convicted felon to assume the presidency.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Judge Aileen Cannon

Judge Cannon Allows Release Of Special Counsel Report On Trump Coup

On Monday, January 13 — a week before Donald Trump's second inauguration — the news broke that Judge Aileen Cannon had OK'd the release of part of former special counsel Jack Smith's final report on his two criminal cases against the president-elect.

Smith's final report contains two volumes: one dealing with Smith's Mar-a-Lago documents case (which Cannon dismissed), the other dealing with Smith's election interference case (which Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed without prejudice at Smith's request after Trump won the 2024 election). And Cannon gave the go-ahead for the release of the election interference portion of the report, while setting a January 17 hearing for the classified documents part.

After the news broke, CNN's Dana Bash brought on legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid for analysis.

Reid told Bash, "What we were looking for today is whether she would try to block (the full release) of Jack Smith's reports. As a special counsel, he is required by regulation to submit reports detailing his investigative decisions to the attorney general. He has submitted two reports to Attorney General Merrick Garland…. The classified documents report is not expected to be released anytime soon, because that case is still active."

Reid added, "Trump had co-defendants in that case. Their cases are still active even though Trump's has been dismissed. So, all eyes are on the January 6 report. And…. Judge Cannon cleared the way for this report to possibly be released. "

Reid noted, however, that based on conversations with sources, she "wouldn't be surprised" if Trump's lawyers "appealed" Cannon's ruling and went "higher up the legal food chain to try to block this release."

Reid told Bash, "Even though sources on both sides tell me there's not a lot of news in this report….. the Trump team had made it clear: They are going to fight Jack Smith and the Justice Department every step of the way."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Jack Smith

Smith Drops Trump Election Charges Despite 'Merits Of The Prosecution'

Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday filed a motion to dismiss federal charges against Donald Trump related to his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, CBS News reports.

Smith, CBS reports, “asked a federal district court in Washington on Monday to dismiss the case against” the president-elect.

“In newly filed court documents, federal prosecutors working in Smith's office told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that they are seeking to close Trump's case because Justice Department policy forbids the prosecution of a sitting president,” CBS News reports.

CNN’s Kaitlin Collins likewise posted about the move.

“News — Jack Smith says he is dropping his election subversion case against President-elect Trump,” Collins wrote on X.

In his filing, Smith wrote the Department of Justice was confronted with an “unprecedented situation” as a result of the November 5, 2024 presidential election — and consulted with the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) for guidance.

"After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC’s prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” Smith wrote in his filing.

“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” he added.

Read the full filing here.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Ex-FBI Official: Defense Lawyer's Notes Show Trump Had 'Criminal Intent'

Ex-FBI Official: Defense Lawyer's Notes Show Trump Had 'Criminal Intent'

Former President Donald Trump and his defense team have made a wide range of arguments against special counsel Jack Smith's Mar-a-Lago documents case, from claiming that any government material he had at his South Florida estate had been declassified to saying that Smith was improperly appointed because he wasn't approved by the U.S. Senate.

Smith has also been fighting with Trump's legal team over audio notes that former Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran made of his conversations with the former president in 2022 before the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago.

Trump's lawyers want Corcoran's notes tossed out as evidence — an idea that Smith vehemently opposes.

Former FBI Assistant Director Frank Figliuzzi is arguing that the notes show "criminal intent" on Trump's part.

In a June 25 post on X, formerly Twitter, Figliuzzi wrote, "This is what we call criminal intent. Trump asks Judge Cannon to toss it: Donald Trump expressed concern that returning classified docs after subpoena could result in criminal charges, sealed notes say - ABC7 Chicago."

That day, Judge Aileen Cannon — the Trump appointee assigned to the case — held a hearing on the notes' admissibility as evidence.

Newsweek's Sean O'Driscoll reports, "In one conversation, Trump allegedly said that he didn't want to hand over classified documents to authorities because it would open 'new fronts' for his enemies to prosecute him."

O'Driscoll points out that after a May 2022 meeting, Corcoran said of Trump, "He raised a question as to, if we gave them additional documents now, would they, would they, the Department of Justice, come back and say well, why did you withhold them and try to use that as a basis for criminal liability or to make him look bad in the press."

In his notes, the attorney said that Trump "repeated many times that he felt he was really being targeted."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

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