Trump Rips Special Counsel Jack Smith in Online Rant

Donald Trump had a bit of a moment over the weekend, posting a Christmas greeting to his supporters that did not exactly create that holiday feeling.

The following day, the rant continued, going after Special Counsel Jack Smith, even implying that Jack Smith’s appointment was illegal.

Trump needs to be careful going down this path because he also has a special counsel appointment under his administration that was not by the book.

Dangerous Waters

Trump was clearly feeling it, posting to Truth Social on December 26:

“Biden’s Flunky, Deranged Jack Smith, should go to HELL. He is helping his Corrupt and Incompetent President to destroy America through Weaponization and ELECTION INTERFERENCE! Smith is a Crooked Prosecutor who shouldn’t even be allowed to be in the position he is in—It is Prosecutorial Misconduct. The Great Ed Meese from the Ronald Reagan Era has him figured perfectly!”

Trump was responding to an article on Breitbart that claimed Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional.

That report was in response to an amicus brief that had been filed with the court by lawyers representing former Attorney General Ed Meese and two top constitutional scholars.

Trump is right, Breitbart is right, the two top constitutional scholars are right, and Ed Meese is right… the appointment of Jack Smith is not legal.

PART 600—GENERAL POWERS OF SPECIAL COUNSEL specifically outlines who can qualify to be appointed as a special counsel.

In the section § 600.3 Qualifications of the Special Counsel, it specifically states:

“The Special Counsel shall be selected from outside the United States Government. Special Counsels shall agree that their responsibilities as Special Counsel shall take first precedence in their professional lives, and that it may be necessary to devote their full time to the investigation, depending on its complexity and the stage of the investigation.”

Since Smith was employed by the DOJ at the time, he never should have been able to be selected as the Special Counsel for the case.

However, the same thing held true for John Durham, who was also appointed as Special Counsel by then-Attorney General William Barr when Trump was president.

So, if Trump decides to push this narrative, he will, in effect, be nullifying everything that was in the Durham report regarding Russian collusion and the overreach by our intelligence agencies.

Quite frankly, I am amazed that Democrats did not make more of this when Durham was appointed because it clearly broke Section 600.3 Part A of the General Powers of Special Counsel rules in the Code of Federal Regulations.