Special counsel Jack Smith expected to wind down Trump prosecutions: Sources
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Special counsel Jack Smith is in active talks with senior leadership at the Justice Department evaluating ways he can end his prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The decision is based on longstanding Department of Justice policy that a sitting president cannot face criminal prosecution while in office, sources said.
It is unclear as of today how Smith's prosecutors will approach dismissing both the federal election subversion case in Washington, D.C., and their ongoing appeal of Judge Aileen Cannon's dismissal of the classified documents case.
Trump has vowed to fire Smith "within two seconds."
"We got immunity at the Supreme Court. It's so easy. I would fire him within two seconds. He'll be one of the first things addressed," Trump said on a call into the "Hugh Hewitt Show" on Oct. 24.
But due to Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a president, a firing is unneeded.
Smith was appointed to his position by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to investigate Trump and his allies' efforts to overturn the 2020 election as well as Trump's alleged unlawful possession of highly classified documents he took from his time in the White House.
On June 8, 2023, Smith indicted Trump on charges he unlawfully retained classified documents and obstructed the government's efforts to retrieve them. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in a federal court in Florida.
On Aug. 1, 2023, Trump was indicted on four felony counts related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump also pleaded not guilty in federal court to those charges.
Both cases were thrown into disarray by the Supreme Court's decision earlier this summer giving presidents partial immunity against prosecution.
The Jan. 6 case was sent back to a lower court, while Cannon, a Trump nominee, dismissed the classified documents case, ruling Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional because he was not appointed by the president or confirmed by Congress.
The Manhattan district attorney's office, meanwhile, declined to comment Wednesday on Trump's pending sentencing in his criminal hush money case .
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26 for falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
In addition, a decision is pending before a state appeals court regarding whether Trump must pay all or part of a nearly $500 million judgment in the civil fraud case brought by the New York Attorney General Letitia James.
"No matter what the next administration throws at us, we're ready. We're ready to respond to their attacks," James said Wednesday. "We will continue to stand tall in the face of injustice, revenge, or retribution."
Trump also owes former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll about $90 million after juries in two civil cases found that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s then defamed her.
"Mr. Trump's election to the presidency does nothing to change either the fact, as determined by two separate juries, that he sexually assaulted and defamed Ms. Carroll, or the applicable legal principles under which he was held liable for that conduct," Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan said in a statement provided to ABC News.
ABC News' Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
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In the meantime, Biden's DOJ will have to figure a way to climb down from the limb they are out on.
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It wouldn't surprise me greatly if they found a way to hand it over to the Democrats to use in a push for Impeachment.
Your criminal President elect is one lucky son-of-a-bitch. Or maybe he's just a rich bastard that utilizes crooked lawyers to clog up the systems till others just run out of money, time and probably will. He beats them into submission and says things like "Exonerated!" when the reports say nothing like that. And now, he is the cartoon character who runs out on a limb and cuts it off, only to watch the tree fall down while he is still on the branch.
The problem is, the tree that just fell down is America.
welcome to america, where even criminals and traitors can be elected POTUS ...
Now baby, listen baby, don't ya treat me this way
'Cause I'll be back on my feet some day ... hit the road Jack
Does any of this prove trump is innocent?
We'll wait.
<crickets>
No but it does mean that he has slipped the hook.
Does it mean he got away with it?? That the traitor is above the law? Deplorable and despicable people voted for that traitor knowing it is a traitor.
Why would he do that? I mean, he is the "law and order" POTUS, right?
trump sure is. if you break the law and you're maga, he'll order a pardon ...
Spoken like a true gangster.
The useful fools in the media are so busy today blaming the Democrats that they forgot all about Trump's crimes.
Someone said today that never again should someone be required to say whether or not they are a convicted felon on a job application. If it doesnt matter for the president why should it matter for anyone else.
Forgot? They have referenced them multiple times today. Do you think voters forgot?
If none of you voted for the asshole why are you all so happy today ?
What makes you think that I’m happy about the election outcome?
That’s ok, i’m happy enough to be happy for both of us.
Trump voters don't care
I think you have it backwards. They are fully aware of how the law was twisted out of shape in order to satisfy a political agenda. Any sane person should be very concerned by the government doing things with the law that hasn't been done to anyone else in order to bring down a political enemy. If the government can do something like that to Trump, what chance does the little guy have? None whatsoever. It is people on the left that don't care. They only want to see Trump get destroyed, no matter what it costs them. That would be fine by me if it affected only them, but it affects us all.
January 6.
Trump called his supporters, they came. Some were violent. People died. Trump did nothing to stop them and even egged them on. When they had obviously been defeated, Trump told them to go home and that,"We love you."
Is that what makes a president?
No, that is what makes a traitor.
Dems had shitty policies that did not help average citizens, they ran a shitty candidate who could not articulate economic policies that would turn the page on the dumpster fire biden/HARRIS years. She picked a shitty individual as her vp. Who should the media blame?
Many of the same people who are totally fine with Trump being immune from prosecution want Biden and many others prosecuted - for something. It’s not that they think Trump is innocent of everything. They just don’t want him held accountable.
I'm good with holding him accountable. Now going about it the right way is the key.
Stretching a misdemeanor with lapsed Statute of Limitations into multiple felonies is not the way to do it. (BTW, the appellate court shredded the entire case and that "conviction" will probably be dropped.)
Smith is also the "prosecutor" whose documents case was dismissed because of how he was "appointed". So in return he had to "shop" for a anti-Trump judge to try again? No, there's nothing shady about that. Also remember this is also the case that Smith admitted that his team mishandled classified material / evidence.
Bringing somebody to CIVIL court over an allegation long past its criminal statute of limitations doesn't make anybody look good either. It really shows peoples lack of knowledge on the findings of a civil case.
Now those crying about "repercussions" don't grasp that Biden can be facing many of the same pending investigations. How many women have made accusations against Biden? We can't forget his mishandling of classified materials or the allegations of corruption by taking money from foreign agents.
There’s always a list of excuses for why his morally reprehensible and/or criminal behavior should be swept under the rug.
Once a traitor, always a traitor.
Also an amoral demented socio/psychopath.
Also - where did you get your law degree? trumpu?
Like I said it's all about going about it the right way. So far they haven't.
Now there is a chance the presiding judge may toss the hush money conviction.
No. This is a common lie people tell themselves. They’re not mad that their boyfriend broke up with them; it’s the way he did it. Or it’s not that your landlord evicted you for not paying the rent; it’s the way he did it. That’s nonsense.
Trump was charged by a grand jury - that’s not a corrupt politician. That’s just people. He was charged with violating actual law. He was tried and convicted by another jury - again, made up of ordinary people. Along the way, he could - and did - make many and varied legal challenges. He lost, but still has the right of appeal. In the meantime, he has been convicted and should be sentenced just the same as any other convicted felon. Now!
If that were really the case, then why is the Judge looking at tossing the whole thing? If it were really about the law then that wouldn't even be an issue.
And who brought it to the grand jury - a corrupt politician.
Because he has been asked to consider it in two separate motions filed by Trump’s lawyers. He’s not going to just toss a conviction sua sponte.
When all else fails, invent a conspiracy.
Or he knows it was bullshit from the start and want's to separate himself.
Feel free proving it as such.
Your evidence?
It’s on you to prove that someone is a corrupt politician. Don’t expect me to do it for you. You made the claim. Prove it.
don't hold ones breath,
certain death
You're the one calling it a conspiracy. I'm waiting.
Your total lack of evidence is all the proof we need. You call him corrupt, offer zero evidence, and it’s up to someone else to prove you wrong? Fuck that shit. It’s obviously invented or you’d have proof.
Here’s a suggestion: has he been charged in court with corruption? No. Has he been convicted? No. You know who has? Trump. Trump has been convicted in a court of law, by a jury of his peers. He went through the full crucible of due process and was still found guilty.
But you want everyone to believe this DA is corrupt WITHOUT evidence. Without proof. Without due process.
So, your position walks, talks, and smells like conspiracy theory.
You, of course, are welcome to counter this with evidence, but you won’t.
That is a very longwinded and Kamala Harris way to say you CAN'T back up your claim.
I did back up my claim. It’s not my fault you won’t understand it, or you reject it out of hand because of your tribal politics. You could even argue that you find it unacceptable, but you can’t argue that either.
You haven’t even tried to prove that the DA in New York is corrupt. You just put it out there and expect everyone to accept it. You haven’t even provided shitty evidence.
You know, upon further reflection, I take it back. It’s not a conspiracy theory. It’s just MAGA-ism. Even a conspiracy theory - as a theory - requires more substance than the excrement you posted about corruption. Your “theory” is nothing more than name-calling. “He’s corrupt!,” you declare, and that’s the end of your contribution. That’s one of the more pathetic MAGA realities that you’ve all learned from Trump. Just say some ugly shit about someone with zero evidence and pretend it’s true, while demanding that others prove you wrong.
You act like immunity was concocted just for Trump. Immunity has been understood for decades, the SCOTUS just put it in writing.
Not in the way the Court decided. Regardless, he has no immunity in the New York case. He was convicted for actions that had nothing to do with his Constitutional responsibilities as president.
With absolute immunity handed to a felon there is nothing to continue. It's over. Even if the most vile Epstein tape comes out directly involving Trump there is nothing any law agency or law enforcement individual can do. No matter what comes out now. It's all over so let him get by with all his crimes because none of them matter now anyway. His voters really don't care about law and order if they accept one man is truly above American laws.
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So, a few questions:
1. Did they get Smith's appointment straightened out? Remember Federal Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case before her because of the questionable way Smith become the "Special Prosecutor". Even Justice Thomas finds it questionable:
Now without the required constitutional requirements, everything Smith has worked for can be thrown out. This brings another problem for the Democrats. Bobbie Mueller's appointment, legally, is in just as much limbo as Smith's. This would throw EVERYTHING the democrats have done since 2016 out. This has the potential to overturn every so called "victory" the Democrats and left have touted as an "accomplishment".
The question now becomes - Will Garland do the right thing or will he commit professional suicide and keep pushing along?
No matter how this is spun by the Democrats and the left, it's becomes clear that NONE of this was about the rule of law but political partisanship.