A Florida state attorney thinks federal special prosecutor Jack Smith may be holding up his Jan. 6 case against Donald Trump in order to keep his strategy a secret from the Trump defense team.
Dave Aronberg told MSNBC on August 26 that Smith probably does not want Trump’s legal team to “see his cards.” It is not in Smith’s interest to let the Trump team see the witness list and other indicators of legal strategy any earlier than necessary, Aronberg said, adding that Smith may be banking on Trump losing the election. If that happens, he said, Smith is looking forward to “the ultimate trial.”
The Biden administration appointed Jack Smith as special prosecutor to go after Donald Trump for allegedly causing the riot on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021. This was the day Congress certified the election results in favor of President Joe Biden. The government’s allegation against Trump is that he somehow encouraged or incited the riot that happened that day when hundreds of people entered the Capitol, some of whom damaged the building.
Smith has had to change tack in his case after the recent Supreme Court ruling establishing that presidents are immune from being prosecuted for acts they carry out as presidential duties. Despite what seems to be deliberate “misunderstanding” from Democrat politicians and the media, the high court did not give the green light to any president to commit any illegal act while escaping justice.
Smith asked for a delay in the case on August 8 to reassess strategy after the SCOTUS ruling. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September, though a date has not been chosen.
Florida state attorney Aronberg added that Smith may be trying to protect some of his witnesses, such as former Vice President Mike Pence, from harassment or threats. Pence will likely have to testify in the case. Smith may also be worried about doing anything that might taint or appear to taint the jury pool, which the Trump team could use to have the case thrown out.
At the same time, Smith is trying to reinvigorate the classified documents case against Trump after federal judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case. She did so by finding that Smith was not appointed in line with the constitution, which requires Congress to approve such appointments; it is not enough for the executive branch to do so on its own.
