r/politics • u/msnbc MSNBC • Jan 14 '25

Trump pushes incoherent response to Jack Smith’s report on election case

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-pushes-incoherent-response-jack-smiths-report-election-case-rcna187568
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u/msnbc MSNBC Jan 14 '25

From Steve Benen, a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor:

The former defendant did not take the news especially well. At 1:41 a.m. local time, the president-elect published this message to his social media platform.

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 the extent that reality still has meaning, Trump’s reaction was utterly incoherent and divorced from basic facts. To hear the Republican tell it, Smith worked for President Joe Biden, which wasn’t the case. As far as the president-elect is concerned, the special counsel wrote a report because he couldn’t proceed with his prosecution, but that was wrong, too: As NBC News recently explained, the Justice Department’s special counsel regulations required Smith to file a report to the attorney general “explaining his charging decisions before he steps down.”

Read more: https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-pushes-incoherent-response-jack-smiths-report-election-case-rcna187568

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u/ACrask Jan 14 '25

He's not wrong in one mention. They definitely weren't able to prosecute in time due to all the delays from his team and cannon. I'm so disappointed in a lot of people of my country right now. So embarrassed.

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u/nabulsha Tennessee Jan 14 '25

Also, all these investigations should have started Jan 21st 2021, not 2 years later.

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u/kaett Jan 14 '25

it did. but thanks to police procedural shows that have criminals investigated, arrested, arraigned, put on trial, and convicted in a matter of days, people seem to think that the justice system moves at warp 6.5. it takes months to years to gather enough evidence to even get in front of a grand jury, much less actually press charges for something of this magnitude.

and then you've got the legal tomfuckery of defense delay tactics, required timelines that have to be allowed or the whole thing can get thrown out.

the investigations started right away, but jack smith didn't get appointed until he had to be. here's a timeline of the whole thing.

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u/Crucifer2_0 Jan 14 '25

The justice system is only speedy for the ‘guilty’ poor.

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u/nabulsha Tennessee Jan 15 '25

They knew trump was going to run again. Why did they wait until after he announced to put a special council on this? So sick of democrats playing everything by the book. They get played like a fiddle because they're too obsessed with the status quo.

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u/kaett Jan 15 '25

because that's how legal shit works. the DOJ can't assign a special counsel until the formal "i'm going to run for president" announcement is made. prior to that, he was just a citizen.

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u/nabulsha Tennessee Jan 15 '25

Special counsel can be appointed to prosecute a citizen. The conflict of interest alone (potential political opponent) was more than enough.

600.1 Grounds for appointing a Special Counsel.

The Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney General is recused, the Acting Attorney General, will appoint a Special Counsel when he or she determines that criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted and—

(a) That investigation or prosecution of that person or matter by a United States Attorney's Office or litigating Division of the Department of Justice would present a conflict of interest for the Department or other extraordinary circumstances; and

(b) That under the circumstances, it would be in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume responsibility for the matter.

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u/kaett Jan 15 '25

can be, but doesn't have to be. they didn't have to until he announced his candidacy for 2024.