The Washington Post frets that with the Republicans soon to be in full control of Congress and (some) control of the Department of Justice, Jack Smith is likely to come under investigation and maybe punishment:
Great analysis. If the Trump administration comes after Smith for criminal prosecution, he will no doubt cite prosecutorial immunity, something not mentioned in the Constitution but well-established. There's irony here, for Democrats bemoan the Supreme Court case finding presidential immunity in a Constitution that doesn't mention that immunity. Jim Dueholm
Tricky situation. If he hasn't clearly violated a US statute, he shouldn't be prosecuted, which leads to the most troubling graf in your piece: "But there’s virtually no chance Smith will be disbarred or otherwise punished by a bar association. Even if he did violate an ethical rule, bar associations are run by Trump-haters. Whatever the merits, they are more likely to give Smith an award than to punish him."
Smith has withheld exculpatory evidence from defendants, misrepresented the facts of his case to a judge (according to the judge, Aileen Cannon), his office mishandled evidence and he colluded with Chutkan to publish evidence against Trump in advance of trial. And this isn't the first time he's abused his power. His prosection of VA Gov. McDonnell was slapped down by the higher court. In retrospect, it was also a nakedly political use of prosecutorial power.
Just what does a lawyer have to do to get cashiered by his brethren in the bar association?
I dont really want to see Smith investigated. I'm much more interested in seeing the Justice Department itself along with every Department stripped of its aggressive leftist partisanship that culminated in an internal "resistance." That is what Congress should investigate and the purpose should not be "theater" or scoring points but bringing about actual real and serious reform. I have no idea whether there are enough serious Republicans in Congress to undertake this. I certainly know there are probably no more than a handful of Democrats. The entire Congress has disgraced itself beyond measure over the course of this century. A lot of that falls on the Democrats but not all of it. Republicans would do well to restore its reputation for competency and integrity. Trump would do well to support them.
Great analysis. If the Trump administration comes after Smith for criminal prosecution, he will no doubt cite prosecutorial immunity, something not mentioned in the Constitution but well-established. There's irony here, for Democrats bemoan the Supreme Court case finding presidential immunity in a Constitution that doesn't mention that immunity. Jim Dueholm
Tricky situation. If he hasn't clearly violated a US statute, he shouldn't be prosecuted, which leads to the most troubling graf in your piece: "But there’s virtually no chance Smith will be disbarred or otherwise punished by a bar association. Even if he did violate an ethical rule, bar associations are run by Trump-haters. Whatever the merits, they are more likely to give Smith an award than to punish him."
Smith has withheld exculpatory evidence from defendants, misrepresented the facts of his case to a judge (according to the judge, Aileen Cannon), his office mishandled evidence and he colluded with Chutkan to publish evidence against Trump in advance of trial. And this isn't the first time he's abused his power. His prosection of VA Gov. McDonnell was slapped down by the higher court. In retrospect, it was also a nakedly political use of prosecutorial power.
Just what does a lawyer have to do to get cashiered by his brethren in the bar association?
Oh, I know the answer: become a Trump attorney!
What a great racket.
I dont really want to see Smith investigated. I'm much more interested in seeing the Justice Department itself along with every Department stripped of its aggressive leftist partisanship that culminated in an internal "resistance." That is what Congress should investigate and the purpose should not be "theater" or scoring points but bringing about actual real and serious reform. I have no idea whether there are enough serious Republicans in Congress to undertake this. I certainly know there are probably no more than a handful of Democrats. The entire Congress has disgraced itself beyond measure over the course of this century. A lot of that falls on the Democrats but not all of it. Republicans would do well to restore its reputation for competency and integrity. Trump would do well to support them.
Agree that I don’t think relitigating this in Congress makes sense. What does make sense is for DOJ to make sure it never happens again