The gamesmanship began on Donald Trump's behalf with his surrogates in Congress.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) fired the first shot and filed a formal complaint against Special Counsel Jack Smith for election interference.
Talking Points…
- Jack Smith indictments against Trump
- Gaetz files complaint
- Analysis
Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed two indictments against Trump: the first is in the classified documents case, and the second is in the election interference case. These are arguably the two cases that have the most teeth in terms of Trump's conviction, but both cases are actually in jeopardy right now because of the delays that the Trump legal team has been able to maneuver.
The classified documents case has faced significant challenges, especially now that the Supreme Court has accepted the Trump immunity motion. It is unlikely to be successful, but arguments for that case are not being heard until late April, so we are unlikely to see a decision until June unless the court expedites its ruling. Even so, Judge Aileen Cannon has already stated that a July 8 trial date, as Smith requested, is out of the question.
The second case, the election interference case, was crafted in such a manner that Smith was able to present the same charge with several different plans of attacks, all but ensuring that he would get at least one conviction against Trump. This case was supposed to start on March 4, but Trump's legal team has been bombarding the court with motions. This case is also tied to Trump's immunity claim, but Trump will have to prove his actions on January 6 were in the country's best interests as president rather than actions taken on behalf of his campaign.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Rep. Gaetz had filed a formal complaint against Special Counsel Smith for election interference. The premise is that these cases were brought against Trump to try to block him from being the nominee for the GOP in the 2024 election. Gaetz is now claiming that the timing of the case was meant to influence the election. He stated:
"The witch hunt against President Trump by Attorney General Garland and Special Counsel Smith is a partisan exercise, and the American people know it. The actions of the Special Counsel Smith to speed up the trial against President Trump violate the DOJ's rules and the law.
"His public comments and his office's briefs before the Supreme Court demonstrate that he has no reason for his actions other than to unlawfully interfere in the 2024 presidential election."
The DOJ generally has a policy that it does not take any action within 60 days of the election to prevent influencing the election, and with these court dates getting pushed back further and further, the conclusion of at least one of these trials would fall into that window. To that point, Gaetz continued:
"It is the core of prohibited conduct that a purpose (not the purpose) of any official action of a prosecutor be to affect any election.
"It may be morally correct that the American people should see swift resolution of this case, perhaps with dropped charges or a Trump acquittal before the November 2024 Presidential election, but wielding Executive Branch authority in the service of this is a violation of law. Prosecutors must be held to a higher standard."
Donald Trump is a master at manipulating the legal system, and his legal team has played this particular plan to perfection. Trump knows that if he is found guilty of a felony, his poll numbers start to go down, even more if he is sentenced to prison. These delays have all but ensured the case would not come to a conclusion, meaning verdict, sentencing, and appeals before the election arrived.
Trump has claimed that this has always been election interference, which I disagreed with. However, if the cases fall into that election window, that obviously changes. My belief was that if they were going to try these cases against Trump, it should have happened well before the primary election to give voters an honest idea of where Trump stood.
The fact that Trump has now sewn up the nomination with four federal cases pending is simply unfair to voters. Having said that, the voters knew all this was hanging over Trump's head and that he very well could be found guilty before the election, but they still chose him over DeSantis and Haley.
When I first saw the indictments against Trump, I was positive that voters would shy away from the unknown, but Trump's diehard supporters have proved they are now the majority of the party. So, that not only impacts this race, but it will clearly impact the 2028 election as it would appear Donald Trump will be hand-picking the candidate to succeed him if he wins this election. If Trump loses, that would likely change how voters see him and anyone he supports.
