Jack Smith Lays Out Case to Prosecute Trump
On Wednesday, the earth shook around Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump to overturn the 2020 election.
Smith had to go back to the drawing board with a superseding indictment to clarify Trump’s alleged crimes as a private citizen and/or candidate rather than the actions of a sitting president.
The shock wave rocked the Trump campaign, with Trump going nuclear over the release of the document.
Damage is Done
The brief was initially sealed, as it fell on Judge Chutkan to decide what would be released and when.
Trump’s legal team immediately filed to keep the brief sealed, but that was denied, and before Trump could appeal, she released the information.
The filing claims, "Although his multiple conspiracies began after Election Day in 2020, the defendant laid the groundwork for his crimes well before then.”
Notice the language in that Smith has removed any and all references to Trump being president, which was on purpose to present all these charges so they would not be immune from prosecution.
One of the more damning pieces of evidence is a quote from a Trump staffer, who, when told there could be chaos and unrest after the rally, the staffer stated, “Make them riot. Do it!”
Trump allegedly told people behind the scenes that the claims of voter fraud being made by allies such as Sidney Powell were “crazy,” yet he amplified those same claims publicly.
During a January 4 meeting, Trump allegedly told then-Vice President Mike Pence, "When there's fraud, the rules get changed.”
The filing also covers Trump’s speech at the rally on January 6, stating, "For more than an hour, the defendant delivered a speech designed to inflame his supporters and motivate them to march to the Capitol.
"The defendant gave his supporters false hope that Pence would take action to change the results of the election and claimed that Pence had the authority to do so."
Trump was pressuring Pence to halt the certification of the election, but Pence did not have that power. The 12th Amendment outlines the duties of the VP, who presides as the President of the Senate, to open and count the certificates.
There is no language, literally nothing, in the Amendment to suggest the VP has the power to halt the proceedings and delay certification. If that power is in that amendment, please show it to me and I will back off this particular point. But Pence got a raw deal because he did exactly what he was supposed to do that day. His role is nothing more than that of a master of ceremony, if you will.
The filing goes on to claim that while the rioting was beginning, Trump just scrolled through his phone, checking social media, and watching Fox News. When he was told that Pence had to be rushed to a secure area, he allegedly responded, “So what?”
The filing concludes, "In sum, just as the President can at times act 'in an unofficial capacity' --including as 'a candidate for office or party leader' -- so too can the Executive Branch staff around him. Simply because a staffer holds a title in the Executive Branch and interacts with the President does not mean that the interaction is necessarily official.”
As I have stated in past reports, it will now be up to Judge Chutkan to decide if the acts outlined in the charges were the acts of a sitting president or that of a private citizen.
There is no way Chutkan will find these were the acts of a president, so the charges are going to hold, with Trump then having to appeal the decision, which at some point will go before the Supreme Court for the final ruling.
When that happens, I do not anticipate at least five members of the court agreeing that all of Trump’s actions that day were official acts of a president, so these charges are going to hold. That is the unfortunate reality of this case for Trump.
Smith and Judge Chutkan know they will not get this case into court before the election, so they decided to try the case in the court of public opinion instead... election interference? Well, that is for the American people to decide.
