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Jack Smith, the special counsel who investigated former President Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and his role in the January 6th insurrection.
(Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Jack Smith Has Made a Grave Mistake Letting Trump Off the Hook
What became of the principle that no person is above the law, not even a former president?
Nov 25, 2024
Today, the rule of law was thrown out the window — not by Trump but by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Smith asked a federal judge to dismiss the indictment charging Trump with plotting to subvert the 2020 election.
Smith made a similar filing to an appeals court in Atlanta, thereby ending Smith’s attempt to reverse the dismissal of the federal case accusing Trump of illegally holding on to classified documents after he left office.
Both filings were a grave mistake.
What happened to the rule of law? What became of the principle that no person is above the law, not even a former president? What happened to accountability?
Smith says he had no choice, given the Justice Department’s policy that it’s unconstitutional to pursue prosecutions against sitting presidents.
But he did have a choice. He could have asked the courts to put the cases on hold until Trump is no longer president.
That’s essentially what Judge Juan Merchan did Friday with regard to sentencing Trump on his May conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Sentencing in that case had been scheduled for Nov. 26 but has now been stayed, according to an order issued Friday by Merchan. No new date for a potential sentencing has been set, delaying it indefinitely, although it could be reimposed later.
It’s no answer to say there’s no point in trying to keep the two cases alive because Trump will force his new Attorney General to quash them.
Let Trump do that, so all the world can see him seek to avoid accountability for what he has done. And let Trump’s Justice Department—which will likely be headed by former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi—ask the federal judges involved in the two cases to dismiss them, so all the world can see Trump’s Justice Department acting as Trump’s handmaiden.
Smith should have put the responsibility for avoiding the rule of law squarely on Trump.
In the meantime, Smith should release all the evidence that his team has accumulated about Trump’s plot to subvert the 2020 election and illegally possess highly classified information.
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Robert Reich
Robert Reich is professor emeritus of public policy at Berkeley and former US secretary of labor. His latest book is the No. 1 New York Times best-seller, "Coming Up Short."
Today, the rule of law was thrown out the window — not by Trump but by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Smith asked a federal judge to dismiss the indictment charging Trump with plotting to subvert the 2020 election.
Smith made a similar filing to an appeals court in Atlanta, thereby ending Smith’s attempt to reverse the dismissal of the federal case accusing Trump of illegally holding on to classified documents after he left office.
Both filings were a grave mistake.
What happened to the rule of law? What became of the principle that no person is above the law, not even a former president? What happened to accountability?
Smith says he had no choice, given the Justice Department’s policy that it’s unconstitutional to pursue prosecutions against sitting presidents.
But he did have a choice. He could have asked the courts to put the cases on hold until Trump is no longer president.
That’s essentially what Judge Juan Merchan did Friday with regard to sentencing Trump on his May conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Sentencing in that case had been scheduled for Nov. 26 but has now been stayed, according to an order issued Friday by Merchan. No new date for a potential sentencing has been set, delaying it indefinitely, although it could be reimposed later.
It’s no answer to say there’s no point in trying to keep the two cases alive because Trump will force his new Attorney General to quash them.
Let Trump do that, so all the world can see him seek to avoid accountability for what he has done. And let Trump’s Justice Department—which will likely be headed by former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi—ask the federal judges involved in the two cases to dismiss them, so all the world can see Trump’s Justice Department acting as Trump’s handmaiden.
Smith should have put the responsibility for avoiding the rule of law squarely on Trump.
In the meantime, Smith should release all the evidence that his team has accumulated about Trump’s plot to subvert the 2020 election and illegally possess highly classified information.
Robert Reich
Robert Reich is professor emeritus of public policy at Berkeley and former US secretary of labor. His latest book is the No. 1 New York Times best-seller, "Coming Up Short."
Today, the rule of law was thrown out the window — not by Trump but by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Smith asked a federal judge to dismiss the indictment charging Trump with plotting to subvert the 2020 election.
Smith made a similar filing to an appeals court in Atlanta, thereby ending Smith’s attempt to reverse the dismissal of the federal case accusing Trump of illegally holding on to classified documents after he left office.
Both filings were a grave mistake.
What happened to the rule of law? What became of the principle that no person is above the law, not even a former president? What happened to accountability?
Smith says he had no choice, given the Justice Department’s policy that it’s unconstitutional to pursue prosecutions against sitting presidents.
But he did have a choice. He could have asked the courts to put the cases on hold until Trump is no longer president.
That’s essentially what Judge Juan Merchan did Friday with regard to sentencing Trump on his May conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Sentencing in that case had been scheduled for Nov. 26 but has now been stayed, according to an order issued Friday by Merchan. No new date for a potential sentencing has been set, delaying it indefinitely, although it could be reimposed later.
It’s no answer to say there’s no point in trying to keep the two cases alive because Trump will force his new Attorney General to quash them.
Let Trump do that, so all the world can see him seek to avoid accountability for what he has done. And let Trump’s Justice Department—which will likely be headed by former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi—ask the federal judges involved in the two cases to dismiss them, so all the world can see Trump’s Justice Department acting as Trump’s handmaiden.
Smith should have put the responsibility for avoiding the rule of law squarely on Trump.
In the meantime, Smith should release all the evidence that his team has accumulated about Trump’s plot to subvert the 2020 election and illegally possess highly classified information.
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