Despite filing over thirty accusations against Trump for his attempted hoarding of confidential documents in Florida and four criminal counts against Trump for his attempt to disrupt the 2020 election, special counsel Jack Smith is not finished with former President Donald Trump and his entourage.
On Tuesday, additional information about Smith’s expanding probe into election influence emerged, and the tension between the hard-driving prosecutor and the world’s most famous suspect only grew. Special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly investigating allegations that funds from false claims of voter fraud were used to finance efforts to hack voting machines in many states that President Joe Biden won.
The latest hint of escalating tensions with Trump’s camp, Smith chided the ex-president in a fresh court filing later on Tuesday, accusing him of making daily statements that threatened to prejudice the jury pool in Washington the day before the trial, which is slated for the day before Super Tuesday in March. The revelation brought to light the unusual nature of a trial against a former president who is seeking reelection, as well as the free speech issues raised by the prosecution of the current Republican frontrunner. Concerns are also raised concerning whether or not Trump, because of his position, is able to get away with comments that would never be tolerated from a regular defendant.
The results of the 2020 election are the subject of more than just Smith’s investigation. The extent of the former president’s legal vulnerability was illustrated by a stunning series of judicial developments in the Fulton County, Georgia probe, in which Trump and 18 co-defendants are also awaiting trial. On Wednesday, a judge is scheduled to hold a first broadcast hearing in the case to begin working through problems that could determine whether or not the racketeering case is bundled into smaller trials and, consequently, how quickly Trump could be put on trial.
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is also waiting to hear whether he will be able to have his trial moved up to the federal court system in Georgia, where he hopes the charges will be dismissed, the epicentre of Trump’s election interference effort and of America’s recent knife-edge politics. This move may be a precursor to another attempt by the ex-president to evade prosecution by District Attorney Fani Willis.
On the same day that Enrique Tarrio, former chairman of the far-right Proud Boys group, was sentenced to the longest jail term yet of any defendant tied to the January 6, 2021 attack on Congress by a pro-Trump mob in Washington, DC, the judicial churn in Georgia picked up speed. District Judge Timothy Kelly stated, “I have no indication that he is remorseful for the actual things for which he is convicted, which are seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct the counting of electoral votes.”
Tarrio’s conviction came after other lengthy prison terms had been handed down to other Proud Boys, some of whom had shown more regret than their commander. The sentences illustrate the escalating cost of political violence following the 2020 election. However, it is still uncertain whether the ex-president who unleashed the most brazen attack on a democratic election in US history would also pay a serious price, despite Trump’s mounting legal problems.
Trump’s position as the GOP nominee grows stronger by the day.
Attempts to hold Trump accountable would be difficult under any circumstances, but the fact that he is seeking a second term as president without resigning from office first makes the legal manoeuvrings more divisive.
There has never been a clearer contrast between the degree of legal and political accountability. On Tuesday, an American News Network poll confirmed Trump’s lead in the Republican primaries. Support from Republicans and independents who lean Republican puts him ahead of the other GOP candidates. A key explanation for this, as suggested by the poll: Republican primary voters overwhelmingly concluded that the allegations against Trump in each case (the fourth involves a hush money payment to an adult film star in 2016) have nothing to do with his suitability for the presidency. Sixty-one percent of registered voters who lean Republican believe that the numerous charges against Trump are the result of political persecution.
Taking the issue of whether Trump is qualified to be president in isolation, the fact that he has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and other counts in Smith’s prosecution and in Georgia is shocking. Trump’s protracted effort, beginning in 2016, to foment distrust in the US electoral and judiciary systems and other institutions including the media has been successful, as this political reality shows. Many of Trump’s followers are convinced, in line with his 2024 campaign slogan, that “elites” in Washington are corrupt and actively working to prevent him from being president again.
Many Republicans also feel betrayed by the Justice Department’s handling of tax charges against Biden’s son Hunter and by evidence that Hunter took advantage of his father’s position as vice president to advance his own business interests in places like Ukraine. They take this as evidence that the legal system is biassed against Trump, and some House Republicans have even used it to justify talking about impeaching Joe Biden despite having no evidence of wrongdoing on the president’s part.
No matter who wins or loses in next year’s election, the ripple effects of the Trump years will be felt deeply in American democracy and government. Despite his not guilty pleas in all four instances, the following year is likely to be turbulent due to Trump’s high chances of obtaining the GOP nomination and the risk that he could be a convicted felon by Election Day. Trump’s criminal liability may indicate why he may struggle to reclaim the president again in an evenly divided country, which is why the outcome of some of his cases could be so significant, even though the indictments seem to have reinforced his lead on the Republican race.
In the AWN poll, about half of the general population felt he should be disqualified from the presidency if the allegations relating to January 6 and efforts to overturn the 2020 election were true. However, if he is the Republican nominee, he will face an unpopular incumbent who, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll, the public believes, at 80, is already too old to run for a second term.
Trump utilises the misfortune of criminals to rile up his base.
Trump keeps turning up the heat, highlighting the merging of his legal defence and presidential campaign. On Tuesday night, for example, he posted on his Truth Social network that Smith was “deranged” and displaying “unchecked and insane aggression.” In a court document, Smith said that the ex-president had made “daily extrajudicial statements that threaten to prejudice the jury.”
The issue about which the claim was made is still entirely under seal, making it impossible to assess its full scope. Judge Tanya Chutkan has already stated that Trump’s status as a criminal defendant must take precedent over his status as a political candidate. She cautioned last month that the Republican frontrunner’s repeated incendiary statements could force her to move up the trial date to maintain the trial’s integrity and avoid prejudicing the jury pool. She acknowledged Trump’s free speech rights but qualified them as limited.
Smith, as the prosecutor with the best opportunity to finish a case against Trump early in the election year, may continue to be the ex-president’s greatest threat. In fact, in an August filing, his legal team argued that the public had a “strong interest” in a speedy trial because the case involved a former president “charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, obstruct the certification of the election results, and discount citizens’ legitimate votes.”
Smith’s decision to only charge Trump in the federal election interference case has been interpreted by many legal experts as an attempt to avoid the kind of time-consuming legal wrangling that is occurring in the multiple defendant case in Georgia, which could result in some defendants peeling off to individual trials or cause delays in the case reaching court.
On Tuesday, AWN’s Zachary Cohen and Paula Reid revealed that his probe into electoral tampering is continuing. The team led by the special counsel is focusing its inquiries on Sidney Powell, a former lawyer for President Trump. Defending the Republic, Powell’s non-profit, accessed voting equipment in four swing states that went to Biden, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Arizona, according to invoices obtained by AWN. In Georgia, Powell has already entered a not guilty plea to criminal charges. As AWN previously reported, she is also included in Smith’s federal election charge as a co-conspirator with Trump who is not currently under indictment. How this new branch of the investigation ties into his larger inquiry is unclear at this time. Smith’s spokesperson remained silent.
There may be some unease among Trump’s inner circle due to the fact that Smith’s prosecutors are still at work. After all, the special counsel has already issued additional charges after initial indictments. For instance, in July he added three further allegations against Trump connected to the alleged obstruction in the papers case and the deliberate retention of national defence material. Trump assistant Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago’s maintenance manager Carlos De Oliveira also face new accusations.
