Donald Trump will never face federal criminal charges for attempting to corrupt the 2020 presidential election, a fundamental democratic process. And he will face no consequences for brazenly removing highly sensitive documents from the White House. refuse to return and tried to hide those documents from the government
Today, Special Advisor Jack Smith which is a representative of the Ministry of Justice has filed to dismiss charges in two federal cases he handled against Trump. Smith really had no choice. Trump promised to fire him and settle the case as soon as he took office on January 20 (President-elect reportedly). plan to shoot (Not just Smith but also the professional lawyer assigned to his team)
In both cases This is a crime that only the president can commit: no one else can attempt to stay in office in the same way. And only a few people were able to take out the boxes full of these documents. And only a president-elect with nearly unlimited resources can escape.
Trump pulled off this legal trick with a simple and effective strategy to run out of time until he was re-elected president. Traditionally, defendants have had two ways to get over the rap. They can convince a judge or jury that they did not commit a crime. Or at least there is not enough evidence to prove that they committed a crime. Or they might be looking for ways to tap into their technical knowledge. Faced with a choice between A and B, Trump chose option C: weaponize America’s judicial defense against itself.
The problem isn’t that these protections exist. These are essential parts of ensuring justice for all defendants. But just like he would in any other situation. Trump sniffs at how what makes the American system great can be so cynically exploited. If you have deep enough pockets and very little shame, You can pursue a case under procedural, appeal and remote proceedings. Enough to slow the case down. And in Trump’s case Delay is a victory. It wasn’t because he could postpone it indefinitely. But because he will soon be president again. with the Ministry of Justice under his authority
Strategy is not without risk. His claims of presidential immunity have drawn ridicule from many legal scholars. The same is true for judges in the first two levels of the federal court system. But the Supreme Court took as long as possible before issuing a decision that overwhelmingly favored Trump. The majority includes three Trump-appointed judges and a fourth whose wife was deeply involved in efforts to undermine the election.
Still, this strategy relies on Trump winning the presidential election. I’m not sure. If he loses, the cases will probably continue. And he might lose those cases. In the case of this document Although it is not as serious as Trump’s attack on the basic structure of the Constitution. But there are clear facts. and in only one criminal case went to trial by a jury. This was seen as the lightest case against him. He was quickly convicted. (Currently, the judgment in this case has been suspended indefinitely. due to Trump’s election as well)
But in Attorney General Merrick Garland, Trump pulled out the ideal foil. The people overseeing the two cases against Trump are obsessed with the justice system. His opinion is that the best way to restore the justice system and the Justice Department after Trump’s first presidency is to do everything according to the playbook, no matter how long it takes. It takes some time. Smith was not appointed until November 2022, two months after the paperwork coup began. and three months after the FBI seized documents at Mar-a-Lago. By the time Smith came forward with the charges, in the summer of 2023, the deadline was tight. Whether the decision is made early enough to inform voters or to avoid being fired if a Republican wins the presidential election.
Here’s the problem with Garland’s calculations: It could temporarily restore the proper functioning of the Justice Department. But it was not approved by the public. And it is not really beneficial to the Ministry of Justice in court. Garland appointed Smith as special counsel after Trump ran for president. To create an image of depoliticization, a few positives emerged: Eileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge. Expressing an overtly political judgment She dismissed the case because she considered the appointment to be unconstitutional.
The most important thing is Garland’s attention to detail allows the system to fail in its basic job of holding individuals accountable for overtly serious crimes. And part of it is because of that. Trump will soon return to the White House with the power and intent to destroy all of the independence and due process that Garland worked to protect.
Not only that The Justice Department will be led by the lawyer who developed Trump’s strategy, Pam Bondi, his new nominee for attorney general. Speaking outside the hearing in New York and defend him in his condemnation. His nominees for deputy attorney general and deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche and Emile Bove, represent him as defense attorney D. John Sauer, who argued immunity cases at the Supreme Court, will be attorney general in DOJ’s fourth position
The lack of accountability on January 6th is an affront to the Constitution. But what lessons will Trump take from the now-withdrawn charges? Along with the decision on immunity is The system cannot hold him accountable for most of the rules he violates. The disrespect will continue.
