The legal tussles over whether and to what extent (former)
Special Counsel Jack Smith's "Final Report" regarding his investigation
and prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump have been fast and
furious. They remain ongoing as to Volume 2 of the report, the portion
dealing with the classified documents case in the Southern District of
Florida.
But on Monday, Judge Aileen Cannon cleared the path for Volume 1 of
the report to be released. That volume goes to the 2020 election
interference case brought by Smith in the D.C. Circuit Court.
BREAKING: Judge Cannon Rules on Whether DOJ May Release Jack Smith Report
11th Circuit Makes Key Decision on Release of Jack Smith's Report
Early Tuesday morning, Attorney General Merrick Garland released that first portion of the report.
Attorney
General Merrick Garland released the first volume, which focuses on the
election case against Trump, of Smith’s report on Tuesday at midnight
after back-and-forth in the federal court system. The report was
released at midnight because that was when the original hold on Volume
One expired.
An opening letter from Smith, who resigned last week,
to Garland said that it is "laughable" that Trump believes the Biden
administration, or other political actors, influenced or directed his
decisions as a prosecutor, stating that he was guided by the Principles
of Federal Prosecution.
"Trump's cases represented ones ‘in which
the offense [was] the most flagrant, the public harm the greatest, and
the proof the most certain,’" Smith said, referencing the principles.
In
the lengthy report, Smith said his office fully stands behind the
decision to bring criminal charges against Trump because he "resorted to
a series of criminal efforts to retain power" after he lost the 2020 election.
Smith
said in his conclusion that the parties were determining whether any
material in the "superseding indictment was subject to presidential
immunity" when it became clear that Trump had won the 2024 election. The
department then determined the case must be dismissed before he takes
office because of how it interprets the Constitution.
"The
Department's view that the Constitution prohibits the continued
indictment and prosecution of a President 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 Office
stands fully behind," the report stated.
As noted by Washington Examiner correspondent and Fox News
contributor Byron York, the report explains why Trump was not charged
with "insurrection" — namely, that Smith didn't believe he could prove
Trump guilty of such.
Following the report's release, Trump took to Truth Social to share his view of the report and the man who prosecuted him.
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. Jack is a lamebrain prosecutor who was unable to get his
case tried before the Election, which I won in a landslide. THE VOTERS
HAVE SPOKEN!!!
To show you how desperate Deranged Jack Smith is,
he released his Fake findings at 1:00 A.M. in the morning. Did he say
that the Unselect Committee illegally destroyed and deleted all of the
evidence.
Given its release on virtually the eve of
his (re)taking office, the impact of the report is likely to be on par
with that of the pleadings Smith's office filed with the court in
October, ahead of the election, laying out their arguments as to why
presidential immunity ought not apply to Trump's alleged conduct. Which
is to say...minimally, outside the too-online lawfare set. The focus
Tuesday will be on Trump's Secretary of Defense nominee, Pete Hegseth
and the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing regarding his
confirmation.
The full report may be viewed here.
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