7 months ago
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WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 predetermination results, said successful a caller study that helium believes the grounds against the president-elect was capable to convict him had helium not won the 2024 election.
"Indeed, but for Mr. Trump's predetermination and imminent instrumentality to the presidency, the bureau assessed that the admissible grounds was capable to get and prolong a condemnation astatine trial," Smith wrote successful the 137-page report.
The report, arriving conscionable days earlier Trump returns to bureau connected Jan. 20, focuses caller attraction connected his frantic but failed effort to cling to powerfulness successful 2020.
Special counsel defends prosecuting Trump
Smith defended his prosecution of the president-elect successful the report, stating his squad "stood up for the regularisation of law" and said they acceptable an illustration to combat for justice.
Smith alleged that then-President Trump knowingly dispersed mendacious claims of predetermination fraud, claiming Trump weaponized those lies to effort to enactment successful power.
"The throughline of each of Mr. Trump’s transgression efforts was deceit — knowingly mendacious claims of predetermination fraud — and the grounds shows that Mr. Trump utilized these lies arsenic a limb to decision a national authorities relation foundational to the United States’ antiauthoritarian process,” the study states.
The peculiar counsel besides elaborate however Trump allegedly utilized his presumption connected societal media to people witnesses, courts and U.S. Department of Justice employees, adding his bureau had to support witnesses from threats and harassment.
"A important situation that the bureau faced aft Mr. Trump's indictment was his quality and willingness to usage his power and pursuing connected societal media to people witnesses, courts and section employees," the study states.
Read the afloat report:
Trump slams Smith's report
Trump responded aboriginal Tuesday connected his Truth Social platform, calling Jack Smith "deranged" and claiming helium was "totally innocent":
"Deranged Jack Smith was incapable to successfully prosecute the Political Opponent of his 'boss,' Crooked Joe Biden, truthful helium ends up penning yet different “Report” based connected accusation that the Unselect Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs ILLEGALLY DESTROYED AND DELETED, due to the fact that it showed however wholly guiltless I was, and however wholly blameworthy Nancy Pelosi, and others, were. Jack is simply a lamebrain authoritative who was incapable to get his lawsuit tried earlier the Election, which I won successful a landslide. THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN!!!"
The president-elect promised to occurrence Smith erstwhile helium returned to the White House. Smith submitted his study to the DOJ connected Jan. 7 and resigned arsenic peculiar counsel connected Jan. 10.
Trump had been indicted successful August 2023 connected charges of moving to overturn the election, but the lawsuit was delayed by appeals and ultimately importantly narrowed by a conservative-majority Supreme Court, which held for the archetypal clip that erstwhile presidents bask sweeping immunity from transgression prosecution for authoritative acts.
Though Smith sought to salvage the indictment, the squad dismissed it wholly successful November due to the fact that of longstanding Justice Department argumentation that says sitting presidents cannot look national prosecution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
