DOJ Unveils Jack Smith’s Report Regarding Trump
The special counsel’s report indicated a strong belief in the evidence against Trump, suggesting it could lead to a conviction.
Officials from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have released excerpts from former special counsel Jack Smith’s report concerning President-elect Donald Trump.
“As detailed in the original and superseding indictments, significant evidence indicates that Mr. Trump engaged in an unprecedented criminal campaign to overturn the legitimate election results to maintain his power,” Smith noted.
Trump was indicted on several federal charges, including conspiracy to hinder the certification process of the 2020 presidential election.
Subsequently, Smith’s team reassessed the evidence collected.
“In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, we reevaluated the evidence to determine whether Mr. Trump’s non-immune actions—either as a private citizen or actions taken while in office that could counter the presumption of immunity—contravened federal laws,” Smith detailed in the newly issued report. “The conclusion was affirmative. After this analysis, a new grand jury was convened, leading to a superseding indictment with the same charges, focusing solely on actions not covered by immunity due to their unofficial nature or any rebuttable presumptions of immunity.”
The second part of the report is currently withheld as Trump’s co-defendants challenge its release on grounds including claims of Smith’s unconstitutionality in his appointment.
Smith outlined in the report that Trump aimed to defraud the U.S. and obstruct the certification of electoral votes, in part through collaborating with others to dispatch alternate elector slates to Washington.
“The Department holds that the Constitution prohibits continuing an indictment or prosecution of a sitting president, a view that is absolute and unaffected by the seriousness of the allegations, the strength of the evidence, or the validity of the prosecution, which the Office strongly supports,” Smith stated in the report. “Indeed, were it not for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the White House, we believed that the evidence admissible in court was sufficient to secure a conviction.”
In a recent correspondence to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Trump’s legal team claimed that the DOJ’s decisions constituted a “full exoneration” for their client.
“THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN!!!” Trump added in a follow-up statement.
Smith, appointed by Garland, affirmed in the report that the decision to prosecute Trump was entirely his own, dismissing any contrary claims.
“No one at the Department of Justice sought to interfere with, or inappropriately sway, my prosecutorial decisions. The regulations governing my appointment allowed for countermanding my choices, per 28 C.F.R. § 600.7, but you did not act to do so,” Smith asserted. “Neither you, the Deputy Attorney General, nor any of your staff attempted to improperly influence my stance on charging Mr. Trump. And for anyone who knows me well, the notion that my decisions as a prosecutor were swayed by the Biden administration or other political figures is utterly ridiculous.”
Smith defended the prosecution of Trump, arguing that it upheld federal interests, notably the principle of equitable law enforcement concerning accountability for the January 6, 2021, Capitol events.
“There exists a considerable federal interest in ensuring consistent and fair application of the law concerning accountability for the events of January 6, 2021, and our Office concluded that this interest could not be met without prosecuting Mr. Trump for his involvement,” Smith concluded.
