The 1/6 Committee wasn’t able to get into Trump’s inner circle, but Special Counsel Jack Smith has the tools to do so.
The expansion under Smith shores up the office’s ability to examine broad conspiracy cases and determine the avenues of the investigation, another source said. They join a team of more than 20 prosecutors from DOJ, as well as senior advisers brought into the department in recent months, who were already investigating Trump and his
allies.
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And where the House select committee hit brick walls in its probe – including with recalcitrant witnesses who claimed privileges, or, like Mark Meadows, bailed on cooperating with congressional investigators midway through – DOJ prosecutors now working under Smith will have certain tools to dismantle those barriers. They include ongoing legal proceedings about piercing the shield of confidentially that normally surrounds a president.
Smith appears to be focusing on Trump and his allies as a big public corruption conspiracy. While the Special Counsel might not get to Trump and force him to testify, the person in the middle of all of the plots was his former chief of staff Mark Meadows. If the DOJ gets Meadows, they will have opened the door for a whole lot of criminal charges against Trump and his inner circle.
The Special Counsel doesn’t need Trump to testify. The DOJ prosecutors need enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Donald Trump committed a crime. The focus on public corruption suggests that these new prosecutors will be working on the fake elector plot piece of the investigation.
Trump’s theft and mishandling of classified documents is a different investigation that could also result in criminal prosecution. House Republicans are going to attempt to derail the Special Counsel, but Jack Smith looks like he is preparing for a massive prosecution.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
